Jordi Gable Lopez, Director of bilateral programme of the Spainish Agency for International Cooperation in Hanoi, co-organiser of the workshop, said he hoped that the project will contribute to improving the city residents’ life besides preserving cultural preservation values and

Started in August 2008, so far, the project’s major components, including setting up a centre for visitors, have been completed.

The imperial city of Hue, recognised as the world heritage site by the UNESCO is the starting point of a tour crossing the Central Vietnam.

Rich in history and tradition, the city’s unique music and cuisine facilitate its tourism development.

On display on an 800m² area will be hundreds of Vietnamese traditional music instruments, including monochord, bamboo flute, two-chord guitar, 16-chord zither and drums from Northern Delta and midland provinces as well as unique music instruments of Northern mountainous provinces such as symbals and bamboo panpipe.

The Paranung drum and the Saranai horn from the Central Highlands region as well as the four-chord lute and the 36-chord zither from southern provinces will be on show.

During the exhibition, a performance of traditional music instruments, a contest for young players and an exchange between outstanding ethnic minority students will be held.

At a press conference in Hanoi on January 21, Vice Chairman of Thua Thien-Hue provincial People’s Committee and Head of the festival’s Organising Board Ngo Hoa, affirmed that the festival, themed “Cultural Heritage with Integration and Development”, is not only a large event with hundreds of special cultural and tourism programmes but also a meeting place for representatives of ancient capital cities and cities with world cultural heritage sites and traditions.

Notably, the programmes during this year’s festival will be imbued with the cultural character of countries from five continents, including France, the US, Japan, Australia and Central Africa.

Vietnam will showcase its own unique culture to international friends, including the performance art of the Hue court music.

An ao dai (traditional long dress) show and royal court festivals will also be held during the 9-day festival.

The Hue Festival 2010 will be expanded beyond venues used during previous years to surrounding areas, towns and new urban areas in the province.

Starting in 2000, the biennial Hue Festival has so far reaped considerable successes. In 2008, the festival attracted nearly 2,000 domestic and foreign artists and 180,000 visitors, including 30,000 international tourists.

Themed “A thousand years of quintessence” the fair is part of activities to celebrate the Thang Long-Hanoi millennium anniversary and the National Tourism Year in Hanoi, Luu Tien Long, Director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Commerce, said at a press briefing in Hanoi on March 8.

In addition to promoting exports, developing and improving the products of Hanoi craft villages, the week will promote the traditional cultures of the villages over the past 1,000 historic years.

It will also include other activities like a contest for artisans on a signature souvenir design for the millennium anniversary.

Visitors will have a chance to witness the process by which crafts are made, and even take part in the production themselves. The organising board will also arrange a tour of five outstanding craft villages in combination with other tourist sites around Hanoi.

The week will cover workshops on the potential and development of Hanoi handicraft villages and shows for craft items.

The design contest and craft village tour were launched in February.