The 2014 Khau Vai Love Market Culture-Tourism Week kicked off in Meo Vac district, the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang on April 24 evening with the legendary love story staged by Cai Luong (reformed opera) artists.

Visitors will have chances to join the market day’s activities and try to weave linen, make brocades and pan-pipes together with local artisans, and ride horses.

A string of cultural activities will also be held during the week such as goat, cow and nightingale fighting festivals, horse races, and incense offering at two temples in Khau Vai commune.

Especially, a beauty pageant will be held for the first time for young girls from mountainous areas in the province.

In addition, there will be a seminar on preserving and promoting the cultural values of the stone plateau.

The hundred-year-old festival, which is held annually in the third lunar month, is a popular meeting place for ethnic groups in the locality, particularly those in love.

Legend has it that a couple who very much loved each other but could not live together made the promise to meet once every year in Khau Vai on the 27th of the third lunar month. From then on, the festival has been held every year on this day for ex-lovers to meet.

The event has now become a tourist attraction, drawing in visitors from across the country and foreigners as well.-VNA