Published:  12:04 Saturday - April 15, 2017

The Hoa Phuong Do (red flamboyant) Festival 2017 will be held in the northern port city of Hai Phong, from May 12-14. The theme of the festival this year is “Hai Phong vuon ra bien lon” (Hai Phong reaching out to the sea).

The announcement was made by the Hai Phong Municipal People’s Committee at a Press brief to announce the launch of the event this morning.

Accordingly, the festival activities will take place in the downtown and centres of several districts. The main event of the festival, the gala night, "Hai Phong reaching out to the sea," will be held at 8pm on May 13 at the Hai Phong Opera House Square, coinciding with the 62nd anniversary of the liberation of Hai Phong (May 13, 1955-2017).

In addition to the gala night, about 60 events are scheduled on this occasion, such as the Hai Phong Tourism Festival, exhibitions on Vietnam Artworks 2017, May Colours Paintings and books and pictures on Hai Phong’s integration and development, as well as Carnival, traditional art performance, street music and sporting events.

At the same time, Hai Phong Department of Culture and Sports is in charge of organising activities in two tourism areas of Do Son and Cat Ba Island.

Deputy Chairman of Hai Phong People's Committee, Le Khac Nam, affirmed that the annual event is held to introduce domestic and foreign tourists to Hai Phong – a land of heroism in Vietnam’s history and a port city with distinctive culture of a well-known symbol that have become familiar with friends all over the world – the red flamboyant.

The festival is expected to create an exciting atmosphere and improve the quality of cultural life for locals. It is also an opportunity for visitors, businesses and investors to learn more about the favourable position in business development and the friendly investment environment of the port city, especially in the tourism development.

According to the city’s official, Hai Phong is focusing on perfecting its infrastructure and modernising urban areas with large corporations such as Vingroup, Sun Group and Him Lam investing in local tourism infrastructure, thus opening up opportunities for Hai Phong tourism to take off and become an important economic sector for the city.

Named after the symbol of Hai Phong – the red flamboyant tree grown across the city, the annual event was first held in 2012 as a new tourism highlight of Hai Phong, to promote the city’s culture and tourism and attract investment for its socio-economic development.

NDO