“Godsend” advantage

Long and some of his companions shared, van singing is available at every big temples in the North but it is a rare opportunity for tourists to watch the rituals and listen to van singing performed by cung van (singers) and thanh dong (medium) in such a beautiful landscape as Suoi Mo. This is a “godsend” advantage contributing to establishing the trademark of Suoi Mo tourism, which needs to be exploited.

Van singing performances in Suoi Mo tourism site.

According to Tran Van Hoa, Director of the Center for Culture, Information and Sports of Luc Nam district, Luc Nam has more than 30 van singing teams in which Nghia Phuong commune itself has 20 teams concentrating in Dum village with many young singers.

According to Duong Van Hoc, leader of the Management Board of Suoi Mo tourism site, a number of tourists from the provinces and city of Hai Phong, Hanoi, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong, Lang Son and Hanoi have flocked to Suoi Mo to enjoy van singing in the temples. Some delegations came with their singers and invited people in Nghia Phuong to join with them. Some days, there were 3 to 5 groups coming to perform.

Suoi Mo tourism site is blessed with both spiritual and ecological factors with big potentials for tourism development. Suoi Mo temple was ranked national historic site in 1998. The provincial People’s Committee decided to recognize Suoi Mo tourism site as the provincial tourism site in December 2019. Ritual performing and van singing club was established in 2014 with more than 30 members.

In recent years, ten thousands of tourists have flocked to Suoi Mo for worshipping, sightseeing and watching van singing and ritual performances especially in spring.

Van singing at Suoi Mo festival.

Specially, Chau Van singing festival is organized on occasion of Suoi Mo temple festival attracting hundreds of singers and mediums from different provinces and cities. This is a featured cultural activity of Suoi Mo festival affirming values and far-reaching impact of this kind of special heritage.

Recently, Suoi Mo tourism site has been invested with nearly 180 billion VND (7.8 million USD) from state budget to build infrastructure ensuring ecological environment.

Creating highlight of Suoi Mo tourism

The competent agency of Luc Nam district wants to boost van singing to become a special cultural feature of Suoi Mo, which needs involvement of many factors because this type of art is attached to religion. The main forces are singers, mediums and the elderly while training to young generations has not been developed.

In coming time, the Culture Division will advise the district people’s committee to support the van-singing club to develop its members, encourage the members to teach singing to young generations and bring van singing into daily service in the tourism site in line with introducing van singing heritage to tourists.

Tourists experience in Suoi Mo.

Besides, in order to make van singing become a “speciality” of Suoi Mo tourism, the people’s committee and competent agencies of Luc Nam district need to pay more attention with a focus on boosting promotion about the heritage values.

There is a good news that the project of improving and refurbishing Ha temple and Van- singing House worth 20 billion VND (863,000 USD) was inaugurated in early 2019. This is a place to organize van singing performances to serve the locals and tourists attached to tourism development.

It is hoped that in near future tourists can enjoy van singing, a featured tourism product on demand at every time, not only at festivals. This is also a solution to attract tourists and contribute to preserving and promoting the heritage values in the homeland of Luc River and Huyen Mountain.

Preserving folk singing with drums

The art of folk singing alongside drums, hat trong quan in Vietnamese, started in Bui Xa village, in today’s Thuan Thanh district, the northern province of Bac Ninh, in the 13th century, but locals still practise the art.

New features of Sloong hao singing festival in Luc Ngan

(BGO) – As a long-standing unique cultural feature of ethnic minorities in highland communes of Luc Ngan mountainous district, Bac Giang province, in 2020, the Sloong hao singing festival and the highland spring market fair in Luc Ngan will be organized with more attractive activities in order to attract crowds of visitors in the early spring days.

Sloong hao singing festival and Highland Spring Market on Tet occasion

(BGO) – The Sloong hao singing festival and Highland Spring Market in Luc Ngan district (Bac Giang province) will be held at district level from February 4-8, 2020 (Lunar January 11-15).

Making ‘then’ singing resounding

(BGO) - Bac Giang is one of the northern mountainous provinces with the cultural heritage of ‘then’ practice of the Tay - Nung - Thai ethnic groups which has just been recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity. This is a type of folk performing arts serving the spiritual needs and religious rituals practice of the Tay and Nung people in the province, mainly in the districts of Son Dong, Luc Ngan, Luc Nam. Yen The and Lang Giang.

Nguyen Duc Tung wins first prize at 2019 Bac Giang Television Singing Contest

(BGO) – The final round of the 2019 Bac Giang Television Singing Contest was jointly held by the Bac Giang Radio & Television Station and Bach Viet Corporation Joint Stock Company in the evening of December 15 at the provincial Conventional Center.   

Cong Doanh