Tour explores Xoan singing in ancient village

Accordingly, artisans and members of Xoan troupes will perform from 2-4pm at Hung Lo communal house every day and from 2-4pm at Lai Len temple every Saturday and Sunday.

During the Hung Kings Temple Festival from April 20-25, xoan singing performances will be staged from 8am – 4pm every day in the above venues.

The daily tour will bring tourists to Hung Kings Temple relic site, Hung Kings museum, Hung Lo ancient village and Lai Len temple, contributing to building Viet Tri into a festival city and popularising tours around the province and the city in particular.

In the near future, travel agencies will continue introducing Xoan singing and Hung Kings worship rituals – two UNESCO-recognised intangible cultural heritages of humanity to the public.

At the ceremony, the provincial Centre for Tourism Information – Promotion, Viet Tri municipal People’s Committee and travel agencies signed an agreement to launch Hanoi – Phu Tho daily tour. , Closely linked to the worship of Hung Kings, Xoan singing is a religious practice rooted in the ancestor worship of the Vietnamese people. It is traditionally performed during the first two months of the lunar calendar in holy places such as temples, sanctuaries and communal houses.

There are three forms of Xoan singing: worship singing for the Hung kings and village guardian spirits; ritual singing for good crops, health and luck, and festival singing where villagers alternate male and female voices in a form of courtship.

The Vietnamese musical tradition was inscribed on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2011 due to declining appreciation of this tradition, notably among young people.

The performing art was transferred to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2017 in recognition for efforts by the local communities and the national authorities to reinforce the viability of Xoan singing.