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| The Second HCM City River Festival includes numerous activities taking place on the Saigon River. (Photo: baotintuc.vn) |
Mr. Phan Van Mai, Chairman of the City People’s Committee, said that the Second HCM City River Festival continues to honor the beauty and value of heritage rivers, spreading pride and love of the southern hub through a series of diverse and unique activities that harmoniously combine tradition and modernity.
The festival includes a series of tourism - culture - entertainment - arts - sports - culinary - shopping activities. It consists of 17 main activities following the same theme, stretching from the central area to the districts in the city.
Local people and tourists can experience waterway tourism programs, attractive programs for tourism demand and shopping stimulation, and enjoy the exciting atmosphere of the river swimming championship, stand-up paddle board championship and water sports activities.
A wide range of activities are being held in various areas across the city, such as Nha Rong-Khanh Hoi Wharf, Bach Dang Park Wharf, Nhieu Loc – Thi Nghe canal, a marina at Lan Anh villa area in Thu Duc City, Ngoi Sao Viet (Saigon South Marina Club) in District 7, Ben Binh Dong pier in District 8, Suoi Tien Cultural Tourist Area in Thu Duc City and other places.
Highlights of the festival is the art show titled “The story of a river Season 2 - The legendary voyage” with a scale of more than 1,000 performers.
This is the first outdoor grand opera on the Saigon River, recreating historical stories through a completely new artistic language combining with unexpected elements.
Consisting of five chapters, the play combines history, cinematography and entertainment characteristics to convey meaningful messages and stories about the development of Saigon - Gia Dinh - Ho Chi Minh City, a land of waterways.
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| The legendary voyage art show is the highlight of this year’s festival. (Photo: VNA) |
The program also uses 3D mapping technology, water screens, water stage platforms, drone performances and boat parades to create a colorful extravaganza celebrating the river culture.
Throughout the festival, there are also other attractive activities such as water sports programs, exhibitions, parades, product displays, art decorations, stimulus programs and ticket discounts for art performances and culinary contests.
The space on the wharf under the boat of the Western floating market is held at Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe Canal from June 1 to June 9 to recreate the floating market activities associated with the Western region, helping visitors experience fruit shopping, along with many other folk performance activities.
A fruit week themed “Tren Ben Duoi Thuyen” (On the Wharf - In the Boat) is being held from June 4-10, featuring the distinctive culture of the southwestern waterways region.
Mr. Le Truong Hien Hoa, Deputy Director of the City Department of Tourism, said that from the positive signal of revenue and waterway tourism products at the first festival, the city’s tourism industry carefully prepared for the second of its kind such as announcing activities schedule and preparing waterway products. In particular, this year’s festival also received response from districts in the city.
The festival is oriented to become a brand event, contributing to positioning the city as a riverside metropolis rich in the cultural identity of Vietnam and the region.
The festival is expected to bring inspiration to explore and experience for local people and tourists about the destination of the city, associated with preserving and promoting the value of national traditional cultural heritage./.