On February 2, Quang Ngai City People's Committee held a ceremony to announce the Tinh Long Commune Boat Racing Festival being included in the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The traditional boat racing festival of Tinh Long commune was announced by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national intangible cultural heritage.
This festival originated in ancient times, associated with the process of land reclamation and settlement of Vietnamese people from the end of the 16th century and has existed for hundreds of years.
The festival is held every two years, in early spring, creating a bustling festival atmosphere during the Lunar New Year.
On the morning of the 5th day of the Lunar New Year, thousands of people gather at Tra Khuc river wharf, to watch the traditional boat racing festival with the competition between racing teams.
The festival has the participation of 4 racing teams, representing the villages in the commune. The 4 racing boats symbolize the four sacred animals: Dragon, Unicorn, Turtle, and Phoenix. Each racing boat consists of 16 people. Each team participates in 6 racing laps, and each race track is about 250m long.
After the race ends, villagers carry the racing boats back to the village temple to perform a ceremony to thank the gods for protecting the village boats and supporting them to win the festival.
The PPC’s Chairman Nguyễn Hoàng Giang
Speaking at the ceremony, the PPC’s Chairman Nguyen Hoang Giang emphasized that the announcement of the Tinh Long Commune Boat Racing Festival as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage is an opportunity to honor the value of cultural heritage with strong vitality, lasting over time.
It also honors the silent and persistent efforts of the community in preserving and promoting the value of heritage, and promotingthe responsibility of preserving heritage of young generations.
The PPC’s Chairman suggested the tourism sector and the locality to develop specific plans and programs to preserve and promote the cultural values and rituals of the festival.
He also urged them to combine festival activities with tourism programs and activities to create a series of rich, diverse and attractive activities to serve people and tourists, contributing to promoting the tourism image of Quang Ngai.
Minh Thien
