Keeping the cultural flame alive in Tuyen Quang

Each spring, Tuyen Quang bursts into color not only with peach blossoms, pear and plum flowers, but also with the vitality of a rich cultural heritage preserved through hundreds of festivals, folk songs and traditional crafts. Home to 22 ethnic groups, Tuyen Quang is often described as a “living museum” of highland folk heritage.

Tay people in Tan An commune preserve Then singing and Tinh lute performances.

The province is home to nearly 400 cultural heritage elements, including 40 recognized as National Intangible Cultural Heritage. Among the most distinctive are spiritual rituals and folk beliefs such as forest worship ceremonies of the Phu La, Nung and Co Lao communities; the New Year festival of the Giay people; and the Khu Cu Te festival of the La Chi. Notably, the Then ritual practice of the Tay ethnic group has been inscribed by UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Tuyen Quang also preserves cultural values of smaller ethnic communities such as the Pa Then, Lo Lo, Bo Y and Co Lao, with unique traditions including fire dancing, ancestor worship, love duet singing and praying-for-harvest ceremonies. The province hosts nearly 100 traditional festivals, several of which have been granted national intangible heritage status, including the Pa Then Fire Dancing Festival, the Giay New Year Festival, Quya Hieng of the Red Dao, and Nang Hai of the Tay Ngan.

Beyond festivals, authorities have focused on safeguarding traditional crafts such as hemp cultivation and linen weaving of the Hmong, handmade paper production of the Dao, silver carving of the Nung, and the making of two-layer palm-leaf hats by the Tay. These practices not only preserve indigenous knowledge and aesthetics but also generate livelihoods and support the growth of cultural tourism.

Since 2022, the implementation of Project 6 under the National Target Program for Socio-Economic Development in Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas has helped revive several heritage elements, particularly Pa Then culture. The province has also accelerated digital transformation efforts, with 10 national intangible heritage elements digitized. The provincial museum now applies 3D mapping and interactive technologies to bring heritage into a more dynamic digital space.

Tuyen Quang currently has two People’s Artists, 33 Meritorious Artists, and more than 9,000 members across nearly 200 folk artisan associations who play a central role in safeguarding and transmitting cultural traditions. Drawing on its rich cultural foundation, the province is turning heritage into a source of “soft power” for sustainable development, ensuring that the melodies of Then singing and the sounds of the Tinh lute continue to resonate each spring across the highlands.

Thu Phuong