Artists from the Viet Bac Traditional Music, Song and Dance Theatre performed dance and singing to praise the spring, the people and the country, and especially the ruling Party as its National Congress is under way. 

The festival which will run until February 5 at the Viet Nam Exhibition, Culture and Art Centre, 2 Hoa Lu street, features various cultural activities to welcome the coming lunar year, the Year of the Monkey.

It's aimed to respect the beauty of traditional culture, celebrate the new year, said Duong Van Quynh, director of the centre.

"It's also an opportunity for artists and farmers to introduce their products and to exchange with each other and Vietnamese overseas enterprises, who are invited to attend the festival," he said.

During the festival, troupes will perform every night to fete audience with ca tru (ceremonial singing), water puppetry, quan ho (love duets), and other types of traditional singing.

Besides the Viet Bac Theatre, artists from Bac Ninh and Lao Cai provinces, the Tuoi Tre (Youth) Theatre, the Traditional Music Development Centre, the Viet Nam Ballet and Opera Theatre and the Viet Nam Puppetry Theatre will perform.

About 19 painters and sculptors will display their work at an art exhibition entitled Spring 2016 Fine Arts Exhibition. The artwork made from various materials such as pottery, lacquer, oil and acrylic will bring audience the emotions of Vietnamese spring and people.

A traditional market of the northern Lao Cai province will showcase the mountainous region's agricultural products, ethnic costumes and food.

The processes of making embroidered cloth, tea, wine and traditional food will be exhibited. Visitors will also have the opportunity to enjoy tea from 20 tea brands of the northwest region and traditional dishes of ethnic groups such as black chung cake, five-colour glutinous rice and men men (pounded maize).

Typical dances, rituals and folk games of Sa Pa Love Market, Bac Ha Market, Muong Khuong Market (Lao Cai province) and Khau Vai Love Market (Ha Giang province) will be performed at the venue.

An exchange programme bringing together enterprises, managers, overseas Vietnamese and ethnic groups will also take place within the framework of the festival to increase mutual understanding about national culture and solidarity.

Director Quynh said through the exchanges, ethnic people will have a chance to share about their lives, work and difficulties, and find the outlet for their products. Accordingly, their economy will be sustainable and improved.

"Some enterprises also expressed the idea of talking with the ethnic people and finding a way to develop local community tourism," he said. 

During the festival, there will be a fair with goods for New Year celebration such as food, beverage, fashion and farm produce.