The festival brings together six provinces in the Viet Bac region, including Ha Giang, Tuyen Giang, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Thai Nguyen and Cao Bang.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Le Khanh Hai praised Viet Bac’s natural beauty and many cultural and historical heritages, which have strong links to the country’s history.

He highly appreciated the success of the festival, which is being held for the seventh time, in boosting connections and co-operation among the provinces in the region.

The festival has also contributed to boosting tourism in the region and attracted much interest from visitors and investors, he added.

The festival features an exhibition of the typical tourism products of six participating localities, a photo display, and a rural market introducing indigenous dishes of ethnic groups.

Visitors can also take part in folk games such as stick pushing, tug of war, crossbow shooting, and Con throwing (throwing a cloth ball through a ring).

A conference reviewing co-operation of the six provinces in tourism over the past six years is also scheduled as part of the festival, offering an opportunity for them to design a strategy to boost tourism and socio-economic development in the region.