(HBO) - Through many ups and downs of history, Khai ha (going down to the field) festival has been preserved by the Muong ethnic group in Hoa Binh province, becoming their indispensable cultural and religious activity every spring. joining the festival, locals wish for a peaceful and prosperous life.
Khai ha festival was promoted at a special art programme in 2022 when the province received certificates recognising bamboo calendar and the festival as national intangible heritage.
Talking about the cultural value of the Khai ha festival, Luu Huy Linh, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that the heritage reflects, preserves and disseminates the cultural values of the Muong ethnic group, and demonstrates admiration and veneration of the god who set up the Muong land. The festival also aims to strengthening community cohesion, and is a spiritual and cultural activity reminding younger generations of the tradition of the ethnic group.
Today, Khai ha is one of the most pervasive festivals that have a great influence on the spiritual life of the Muong ethnic group. In 2022, with many efforts of the province, this festival was recognised as national intangible cultural heritage.
The festival, also dubbed as the ploughing or forest opening festival, has connection with the wet rice cultivation which carries a sign of civilisation of the ancient Vietnamese. Khai ha in each Muong region takes place at different times and places./.
The People’s Committee of Lac Son district held a ceremony on April 28 to receive the provincial relic certificate for the ancient rock carving site at Suoi Co stream, located in My Thanh commune.
A special music show titled "The country is in the fullness of joy” has been held at Hoa Binh Square in Hoa Binh city in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and national reunification (April 30, 1975–2025).
The People's Committee of Lo Son commune, Tan Lac district, has organised the local annual traditional stream fishing festival on April 19 - 20.
As a land deeply intertwined with human history and Vietnam’s millennia-long journey of nation-building and defence, Hoa Binh is often revered for its epic tales and legends.
Residents of Hoa Binh boast a rich cultural identity, reflected in their unique language, traditional attire, customs, and folk melodies – described as "sweet as honey, clear as a mountain stream.”
Lac Son district’s Vu ban town held the 2025 Truong Kha temple festival on April 12–13 (the 15th–16th days of the third lunar month). Since its revival in 2019, the festival has been organised every three years, preserving valuable intangible heritage while meeting the community’s cultural and spiritual needs.
