The cultural life of ethnic minority people in Hanoi’s outlying Ba Vi district has seen positive changes after the one-year implementation of a project to preserve, restore and develop the culture of local ethnic groups in the 2013-2015 period.

The outcomes of the project have helped form a system of culture-sport activities imbued with traditional identities, including the restoration of a festival dedicated to Tan Vien, the Saint of Tan Vien Mountain (now Ba Vi Mountain), one of the four immortals of Vietnam, as well as community cultural activities at villages, gongs teams, traditional dances and songs.

Many cultural identities of local ethnic minorities, now falling into oblivion, such as the dialects, costumes, songs and dances, and gong culture of ancient Muong people and the cap sac (maturity) ritual of Dao people have been gradually revived.

In addition, local authorities have actively encouraged ethnic residents to give up backward customs, say no to social problems and build a health cultural life.

The district has also paid attention to building cultural villages of ethnic groups in combination with developing traditional crafts and community-based tourism.

Ba Vi lies in the northwest bottom of Hanoi , containing a major part of Ba Vi Mountain running through the south of the district. It has seven mountainous communes which are home to nearly 68,000 ethnic minority people, mainly Muong and Dao.-VNA