The opening ceremony was attended by many party and state leaders, representatives from sectors and localities across the country and thousands of domestic and foreign tourists.

Participating in the event, organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in collaboration with the provincial People's Committee, are 725 martial arts masters , instructors and athletes of 69 martial arts delegations from 27 countries and territories across the world.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan said Vietnam's traditional martial arts always keep abreast with the country in the national defence and construction, contributing to developing the sporting tradition and the intangible culture of the nation.

He expressed his hope that this year's event will contribute to preserving and promoting unique values of Vietnamese martial arts and that traditional martial arts training will be developed at schools in the province and the whole country in the future.

This year's festival will see the establishment of the Vietnam International Martial Arts Federation, which is expected to help popularise the traditional martial arts of Vietnam all over the world.

During the event, martial arts competitions and performances will take place.

There will be also a workshop on enhancing Vietnamese martial arts and a photo exhibition of Vietnamese traditional martial arts along with arts performances and a folk singing festival.