The view of the exhibition - Photo: VNA

The photo exhibition named “Vietnam’s traditional festivals” was organized at the Vietnam Cultural Centre in France, in the framework of activities celebrating the 122^nd birthday of President Ho Chi Minh, by the overseas Vietnamese community in France.

The exhibition was co-organized by the Department of Fine Arts, Photography and Exhibition, Vietnam Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in collaboration with the Vietnam Cultural Centre in France.

The exhibition displays more than 80 outstanding photos about Vietnam’s traditional cultural festivals such as the Hung King temple festival in Viet Tri, Phu Tho province; the buffalo fighting festival in Lap Thach, Vinh Phuc province; the My Son festival in Quang Nam province; elephant racing festivals in the Central Highlands and the festival in Le Mat village, which represent different areas of the country and folk cultural activities.

These photos were chosen from outstanding entries about Vietnamese festivals having won prizes at competitions in Vietnam as well as in foreign countries.

These photos were introduced in groups according to ethnic minorities and cultural areas of Vietnam, bringing the audience closer to the cultural space of Vietnam’s ethnic minorities.

Speaking at the exhibition, Mr Nguyen Trung Nhat said that through lively and true-to-life photos, the exhibition helped the French people, overseas Vietnamese in France and international friends better understand the traditional cultural festivals of Vietnam’s ethnic groups.

There are now about 8,000 festivals taking place each year in Vietnam. These festivals show the rituals, beliefs, manners and customs, and vivid daily life of different ethnic groups.

At the same time, this is also a chance to honour the work of Vietnamese photographers during the integration process with international photography, boosting cultural exchange between Vietnam and France.

According to Mr Le Hong Chuong, Director of the Vietnam Cultural Centre in France, the exhibition also contributed to helping French and international friends better understand the country, the people and culture of Vietnam, and promoted tourism in Vietnam as well as in France and Europe.

After the exhibition, the photos will be presented to the Vietnam Cultural Centre in France to continue to introduce and promote the image of Vietnam in France and Europe.

During the opening ceremony of the exhibition, the audience also enjoyed an art performance with songs praising the great President Ho Chi Minh. Especially, Vietnam’s traditional musical instrument performance items were played by second and third generation Vietnamese children in France.