At the opening ceremony of the festival (Source: VNA) Lai Chau (VNA) - The sixth Vietnam-Laos-China ‘con’ festival, themed “Colour offriendship”, kicked off in Muong Te district, the northern mountainous provinceof Lai Chau on December 29.
The three-day event has welcomed nearly 1,000 participants from Lai Chau andDien Bien provinces in Vietnam, Phongsaly province in Laos and Yunnan province inChina.
The ‘con’ is a small ball made from pieces of colourfulcloth stuffed with puffed rice and cotton seeds. It is thrown at a bamboo hoopas part of a folk game played during the festivals and New Year holidays ofThai ethnic communities.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vice Chairman of theLai Chau People’s Committee Tong Thanh Hai highlighted the significance of the festival,saying that the biennial event aims to enhance cultural exchange,people-to-people diplomacy, and cooperation between border localities in Vietnam,China and Laos, contributing to promoting solidarity and friendship between thethree nations.
It also contributes to promoting the culturalidentities of ethnic minority groups in Lai Chau in general and Muong Tedistrict in particular to international friends, he said.
The festival is featuring folk games, traditional costumes, an exhibition,cultural exchange activities, and a trade fair exhibiting products andintroducing cultural and tourism products from the three countries./.
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