A performance at the opening of Yen Bai Tourism Year Festival 2017 on May 19

The highlight of the opening ceremony was a special art show which gathered leading domestic artists with a combination of traditional music and dance performances complimented by contemporary art and lighting.

The events also kicked off a chain of tourism activities scheduled for this year in Yen Bai Province in response to the 2017 Lao Cai – North-Western Region National Tourism Year.

Alongside this, a festival honouring practices related to the worship of the Mother Goddess of Forests was held for the first time in Dong Cuong Temple in Ben Dien Village, Dong Cuong Commune, Van Yen District from May 20-21, with the participation of 54 teams nationwide.

There will also be a fair introducing Van Yen’s cinnamon products – a Yen Bai specialty with booths showcasing and reproducing the process of making products from Van Yen cinnamon as well as other local products.

Also within the framework of the Yen Bai Tourism Year, the Khau Pha Paragliding Festival has attracted more than 100 registered paragliders from Viet Nam and other foreign countries. In addition, travelers can take part in double paragliding services from Khau Pha mountain pass down to Lim Village in Khau Pha Commune, Mu Cang Chai District, on May 20 and 21.

Yen Bai Tourism Year 2017 will be followed by a range of activities, such as Muong Lo Cultural Tourism Week; visiting Mu Cang Chai terraced fields; community-based tourism and adventure tourism in Nghia Lo, Van Chan, Tram Tau and Mu Cang Chai; as well as exploring Thac Ba Lake with Dai Minh Pomelo Festival and Thac Ba lake boat racing.

A conference introducing and promoting tourism investment in Yen Bai has also been organised to introduce local potential for tourism development and tourist sites in Yen Bai Province. Typical provincial tourism products and connecting routes to serve domestic and foreign tourists will be showcased at the event.