The ancient royal palaces in Hue seemed to travel back in time on the evening of April 10, with flags, sparkling candles, lanterns and the aroma of incense in the air, giving visitors to Hue festival a taste of life as a Royal during the Nguyen Dynasty, from 1802-1945.

The “Dem Hoang Cung” (Royal Night) event, one of the highlights at Hue festival, will be staged on the night of April 10 and 13, with a range of artistic performances of Court music and dance, traditional songs from Hue as well as its cuisine, including royal dishes.

Visitors take part in some of the scenes, such as the princess’s procession and the changing of the guard ceremony.

The Royal Night also honoured the unique cultural values of other countries in the region with a fashion show featuring traditional costumes from Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, Mongolia, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos, Cambodia as well as Vietnam.

Earlier that day, the first international drum and percussion instrument festival gathered together hundreds of Bronze and Royal drummers, the Tay Son war drum group and musicians playing Tay Nguyen gongs.

The sound of the bronze drum symbolises the nation’s vitality. It calls the people to gather on festival days or warns of natural disasters and invaders, historian Duong Trung Quoc said, adding that keeping the sound of the bronze drum maintains our national culture.

Also as a part of the Hue festival, an exhibition of photos is being held at the Royal Palace, with 29 photos of Hue by Vietnamese photographer Dao Hoa Nu and 60 others focusing on Vietnam, its countryside and its people, by Japanese photographer Teruyo Iwahiro.

During its first three days from April 7-9, Hue festival attracted 65,000 tourists, including 30,000 from overseas.-VNA