Trang An is known as a place associated with important historical marks of the nation, from the time of King Dinh Tien Hoang who continued the Hung Kings' reign to protect independence and unify the country, King Le resisted the Song, pacified the Cham, King Tran Thai Tong established the Vu Lam Palace in the resistance war against the Yuan-Mongol, the lightning-fast steps of Emperor Quang Trung-Nguyen Hue advancing to Thang Long, defeating the Qing army.

In order to show gratitude and commemorate the gods, the ancestors, and the ancestors who contributed to the cause of building and protecting the country, helping the nation and people to be peaceful, helping the weather to be favorable, the Trang An Festival is held annually in the third lunar month at Trang An Eco-tourism Area, Hoa Lu city, Ninh Binh province.

Unique Trang An Festival - Unique cultural and religious feature of Ninh Binh province.

Over the years, the festival has been held on a large scale with many traditional rituals such as: Dragon procession, palanquin procession, water procession on Sao Khe river; incense offering at Suoi Tien temple combined with special art programs from regions across the country performed by hundreds of artists and actors on live stages spread throughout the heritage area.

In particular, with the theme "Trang An - A thousand-year heritage, the sacred soul of mountains and rivers", Trang An Festival 2025 continues to honor the historical depth and eternal value of Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex, arousing the revolutionary tradition, national pride of many generations of people along with the historical and cultural values, beliefs with the unique identity of an ancient capital in the heart of the heritage, attracting tens of thousands of visitors to attend.

As one of the members of the Dragon procession team, Mr. Pham Quoc Chieu, Khanh Hoa commune, Yen Khanh district, Ninh Binh province excitedly shared that organizing the Dragon procession from Tam Quan gate to Trang An wharf is a new feature of the festival in recent years, creating a connecting journey to attract tourists and an opportunity for the local community to express the spirit of solidarity, attachment, sharing, together preserving, promoting, and spreading pride in the festival as well as Trang An Heritage.

In addition, Trang An Festival is also known as the Forest Opening Ceremony (Phát Lát) associated with the outstanding global values ​​of the World Heritage Site of Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex, which was recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2014 to convey the message of forest protection, ecosystem preservation and sustainable development.

Ms. Tran Bich Thuy, Thanh Hoa province said: “Coming to the festival, I not only got to immerse myself in the colorful atmosphere but also visited historical relics and scenic caves, forests, mountains, and rivers of Trang An such as Trinh Temple worshiping two generals of the Dinh Dynasty, Vu Lam Palace, Cao Son Temple, Suoi Tien Temple, etc., and enjoyed special art performances. In addition, the people, boatmen, and service staff here are very friendly and hospitable, helping me learn about the unique historical and cultural values ​​of Trang An.”

Currently, Trang An is one of 40 mixed heritages out of more than 1,220 World Heritages recognized by UNESCO, demonstrating the stature and unique value of this heritage not only in the region but also globally. In particular, the brand value of Trang An has just been assessed by domestic and international experts and scientists at 213 billion USD, reflecting the richness that nature and history have bestowed. This is a clear demonstration of the attractiveness and strong development potential of Trang An, not only in terms of heritage but also in terms of economy, tourism and national brand.

Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Van Bai, former Director of the Vietnam Department of Cultural Heritage, said that in recent times, Ninh Binh province has had a very effective and successful public-private partnership model in managing and exploiting Trang An Heritage in a responsible manner, especially in terms of tourism; at the same time, it has empowered the community to organize festivals here in a very professional and methodical manner, contributing to spreading values, preserving and promoting heritage and attracting a large number of tourists. Especially Trang An Festival, this is a unique cultural event combined with heritage to become an attractive and diverse tourism product of Ninh Binh province.

According to Chairman of Ninh Binh Provincial People's Committee Pham Quang Ngoc, Ninh Binh is one of the pioneering provinces in realizing heritage economy, spreading the brand of the mixed world heritage Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex. Thereby, not only helping Ninh Binh province to accurately, fully and comprehensively assess the economic values ​​and brands of a mixed cultural and natural world heritage in Vietnam, but also gradually establishing a scientific and practical basis for the issue of researching the economic values ​​and brands of world heritage sites in Vietnam and around the world.

Trang An Festival is a major event contributing to promoting and introducing the unique, attractive features and outstanding values ​​of tourism resources of Ninh Binh province, especially the World Cultural and Natural Heritage Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex; an opportunity for the younger generation to understand and appreciate more the precious traditional cultural values ​​of the nation.

The success of the Trang An Festival in 2025 once again affirms the determination of Ninh Binh province in preserving and promoting heritage in the spirit of the 1972 World Heritage Convention "Nature creates - History refines - People inspire - Aspiration to rise".

Source: https://nhandan.vn/le-hoi-trang-an-hanh-trinh-ve-mien-di-san-linh-thieng-post873219.html