Fish Festival, also known as Khau Rang Festival of the Tay people in Yen Minh district 2023 was held on a district scale with many activities such as: Fish racing, hand-catching fish competition, fish bile collection competition, wrapping banh chung cakes with fish fillings, grilling field carp, making corn wine with leaf yeast...

Through the festival, the local authorities aimed to promote the image of people and resources, typical and unique tourism products of Yen Minh district to attract tourists.

According to ancient legend: Two Tay leaders, Nguyen Vien Rich and Nguyen Vien Quang, brought their Tay relatives and people to Mau Due commune to explore and live in valleys next to rivers and streams. They cultivated effectively in the fields and invented the practice of releasing carp into rice fields. Thanks to high productivity, this practice was widely replicated. From the special products of the fields, every year, on September 9, Tay families in Mau Due commune, Yen Minh district, whether rich or poor, make a decent meal of rice and fish to invite their relatives.

The Fish Festival has a unique identity of the Tay community in Yen Minh district and it has been maintained until today with the desire to pray for good weather, good harvests and to give thanks to the ancestors for teaching Tay people how to grow wet rice.

Besides satisfying the needs of spiritual life, this is also an opportunity for children in the Tay villages to wear new clothes, an opportunity for young men and women to have the opportunity to get to know each other, and most especially, the Fish Festival has created extremely diverse culinary, cultural and artistic activities.

After the ceremony to honor their ancestors, families enjoy feasts filled with dishes from field carp. Strong fragrant leaves-fermented corn wine is brought out by the homeowner to invite in-laws, neighbors, and friends. In the cozy atmosphere of family reunion, everyone is excited because the harvest is good, their village and families have a prosperous life.

Because of these beautiful meanings, the Fish Festival of the Tay people in Yen Minh district was recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2016.

To "turn heritage into assets", the 2023 Fish Festival was organized on a district-level scale by Yen Minh district on October 22. Because it was held during the buckwheat flower season, the festival attracted thousands of tourists to visit and experience unique and attractive activities such as fish competitions held in the wide stream flowing through the area. Almost every house in the commune raises field carp. When the rice season comes, people drain the water to catch fish for the Fish Festival and choose the biggest and strongest ones to bring to the fish racing competition.

The organization of the Fish Festival not only motivates people to enthusiastically work and produce, encourage livestock development but also contributes to promoting the image of people, resources and typical and unique tourism products of the district to visitors across the country.

Yen Minh