Mu Cang Chai terraced paddy fields in Yen Bai province.

Ai said this year’s event will have new features with performances in the opening ceremony being less epic while still ensuring unique cultural identities of ethnic groups in the region. 

With the theme of “Ethnic groups in the northwestern region: unity and development towards the National Tourism Year 2017,” the festival will be attended by eight provinces: Hoa Binh, Son La, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Ha Giang and Phu Tho. 

Its activities will include an incense-offering ceremony at the Uncle Ho Monument and an impressive opening ceremony with the participation of around 300 artists and athletes from the eight provinces. 

An art festival for ethnic minority people in the northwestern region, performances of their cultural rituals and a traditional costume show will be also held together with and art and photo exhibitions and sports activities. 

Vietnam’s mountainous northwestern region has great potential for tourism, especially adventurous tourism, when it possesses spectacular landscapes shaped by enormous ranges of mountains, including the Fansipan peak, dubbed as “the Roof of Indochina”. 

The popular tourist destinations in the region are Sapa town in Lao Cai, the Mu Cang Chai terraced paddy fields in Yen Bai, the Mai Chau town in Hoa Binh, the Moc Chau Plateau in Son La, the Dong Van Karst Plateau in Ha Giang, and Dien Bien Phu city, known for its historic value, in Dien Bien.

VNA