Hanoians enjoy the colour and music in the street carnival

Thousands of people in Hanoi enjoy the colour, music and tradition in the street carnival with theme “The Quintessence of Hanoi – Confluence and Shine” around Hoan Kiem Lake on Sunday morning July 29.
 

The carnival is organized by the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports in coordination with the Center for Preservation and Development of Vietnamese Stage Arts on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Hanoi's expansion of its administrative boundary (2008 – 2018).

Hanoi turned out in style to enjoy a colourful return for the street carnival. Dancers and music filled the streets as the carnival made its way up around Hoan Kiem Lake, passing by Ly Thai To Square, Ba Kieu Temple, Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square, the Ba Trieu - Hang Khay intersection, and the Hang Bai - Trang Tien intersection. 

It started with the Lion dance, a traditional Vietnamese dance performed on big occasions. In addition, the parade comprised of more than 5,000 artisans, folk performance artists, elderly people, and students in Hanoi, and featured interesting performances of traditional dance and costumes.

Hanoians enjoyed the “Ao Dai” (traditional Vietnamese dress) showcase, a performing highlight of the street carnival. In addition, parades also featured “non la” (conical hat) shows, silk dance by representative from the Van Phuc silk village, and a conical hat dance, sporting activities like wushu, karatedo, taekwondo, aerobics, juggling, etc.

The event also aimed to honor the city’s heritage and cultural values to attract more tourists and promote local culture and tourism.

Mark Riley, a US tourist, said: “This is the first time I’ve joined the carnival in Hanoi. I really enjoy and love it, I hope Hanoi to be able to continue to do more things like this in the future.”
 

All of former Ha Tay province and parts of Hoa Binh and Vinh Phuc provinces were merged into Hanoi in 2008, increasing its size to more than 3,300 sq km with 29 districts.

Hanoi has maintained high annual economic growth rate since the expansion. Annual gross regional domestic product (GRDP) has grown by an average of 7.41% each year. Many indicators have doubled or even tripled, such as farmers’ per capita income up 2.92 times, and budget collections up 2.93 times, according to the Hanoi Department of Planning and Investment.

The city welcomed 4.95 million overnight visitors in 2017, about 2.8 times higher than that in 2008. Hanoi was also listed among the world’s top 10 fastest-growing tourism cities in 2017 by Mastercard Global Services.