Among the nationwide activities to welcome the Lunar New Year, a traditional boat race on February 15 in Son Tinh district, the central province of Quang Ngai, attracted hordes of visitors.
Competitors are divided into four teams, which represent four different villages in the locality. Each team rows a boat in the shape of a dragon, unicorn, turtle and phoenix.
Held on biennial Tra Khuc River on the fifth and sixth day of the Lunar New Year, the event is to pray for prosperity, peace, favourable weather and a bumper harvest.
The same day, thousands of Co Tu ethnic people in the mountainous district of Tay Giang in central Quang Nam province flocked to a gong festival to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
The event offered participants a chance to exchange, preserve and develop their traditional cultural values.
Mountainous districts in Quang Nam are home to nearly 43,000 Cơ Tu people. They deem gongs as a traditional art form, played during numerous festivals in their villages.
On February 16, the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, two boat races also took place in Tuy An and Tuy Hoa districts in central coastal Phu Yen province.-VNA
