Hoi An International Food Festival opens

The Hoi An International Food Festival “Taste the World”, the first of its kind, opened at An Hoi sculpture garden on March 14, attracting 12 chefs from 12 countries worldwide.
Hoi An International Food Festival opens ảnh 1 Foreign visitors enjoy Vietnamese food at the festival (Photo: VNA)

Quang Nam (VNA) - The Hoi An International Food Festival “Taste the World”, the first of its kind, opened at An Hoi sculpture garden on March 14, attracting 12 chefs from 12 countries worldwide.

During the week-long event, the chefs will demonstrate their cooking skills at 12 local restaurants, namely Cargo club, Morning Glory, Inflame club, Mango I, Mango II, Rice Drum, Seafood Garden, Vinh Hung, Seedlings, Mangorooms, Tam Tam and Hai café.

The participating restaurants will be decorated and themed to the countries of the visiting chefs, who will prepare traditional dishes from their respective countries.

The festival, a new tourism product of Hoi An in 2016, is expected to bring the local cuisine to countries and territories worldwide, thereby popularising the city, its land and people.

The ancient city of Hoi An in the central province of Quang Nam was a renowned international trade port in the 17th century where ships from Japan, China, and European countries docked to exchange wares.

Covering 60 sq.km, Hoi An has 22.5 sq.km of agriculture and forest land and 11 sq.km of lakes and channels.

In 2012, it was shortlisted for the top ten Asian cities in the US-magazine Conde Nast's Traveler's Readers Choice Awards. The following year, the UNESCO-recognised world heritage city was chosen for the Townscape Award by the UN-Habitat Regional Office in Asia.

Hoi An food has also been honoured by prestigious magazines and websites globally, ranking sixth in TripAdvisor. Meanwhile, cooking in Hoi An was also named among the top 10 international travel experiences by Lonely Planet.-VNA

VNA

See more

A tribute to Hung Kings in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA)

Hung Kings’ Commemoration Day 2026 to spread sacred values, foster national unity

Following the merger of Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc, and Hoa Binh provinces into the new Phu Tho province last year, the Hung Kings Temple Festival has taken on heightened significance. It now serves not only as a tribute to the ancestral homeland but also a unified cultural platform that extends sacred ancestral values to Vietnamese communities at home and abroad.

A traditional art performance at Bach Ma temple in Hanoi (Photo: VNA)

Traditional arts hold untapped economic power

Traditional arts embody deep aesthetic values, worldviews, and national identity, shaping the country’s distinctive “aesthetic identity” and foundational cultural tastes

A performance at the opening ceremony of the Hung Kings Temple Festival and the 2026 Ancestral Land Culture and Tourism Week on late April 17 (Photo: VNA)

Hung Kings Temple Festival, associated tourism week kick off

The annual festival serves as a major national cultural event, offering an opportunity for people across Vietnam and overseas Vietnamese communities to pay tribute to their ancestors, express gratitude, and strengthen the great national solidarity.

A ritual at Hue Nam Temple Festival (Photo: VNA)

Hue Nam Temple Festival: From imperial relic to distinctive cultural celebration in Hue

Historically known as Ngoc Tran Son Tu, the temple was renamed Hue Nam during the reign of King Dong Khanh in the late 19th century, symbolising royal gratitude to the Mother Goddess. It is also the only temple in Hue that harmoniously combines royal ceremonial elements with folk religious practices, creating a distinctive blend of court ritual and popular belief.

Participants in the 20th Cong hien (Devotion) Awards presentation ceremony in Hanoi on April 15 (Photo: VNA)

Devotion Awards mark two decades of honouring excellence in music, sports

Nguyen Thien Thuat, Editor-in-Chief of the The Thao & Van Hoa newspaper and Head of the organising board of the awards, said, noting that their achievements reflect the spirit of the Politburo’s Resolution No. 80, which emphasises preserving national cultural values while selectively absorbing the essence of world culture.

Artisans and students take part in cultural activities and exchanges in the Xoan singing performance space at Hung Lo ancient communal house in Phu Tho province (Photo: VNA)

Ancestral legends revived through contemporary performance

Beyond cultural value, well-organised festival programmes linked with tourism and media can contribute to the development of cultural industries and enhance Vietnam’s cultural soft power, positioning heritage-based events as distinctive national cultural brands in the international arena.

Khue Van Cac (Khue Van Pavilion) stands as a defining cultural symbol of Hanoi, closely associated with Vietnam’s long-standing tradition of valuing education and honouring knowledge. (Photo: VNA)

Greater efforts needed for heritage to shape Hanoi’s identity

As suggested by UNESCO experts, heritage should be approached as an integrated system encompassing space, people and everyday life. This perspective can inform urban planning, cultural tourism development and the creation of clear economic drivers.

Participants at the gathering (Photo: VNA)

Lao, Cambodian students welcome traditional New Year in Ho Chi Minh City

In his speech, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Manh Cuong said the municipal Party organisation, authorities and people always value the close ties and solidarity among Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. He described the three nations’ longstanding ties, forged through shared hardships, as an invaluable spiritual asset and a bedrock for sustainable development.