Going through many generations, the traditional drum-making craft of the Co Tu people has gradually faded, remaining only in the memories of a few elders. In Doi Village, Khe Tre Commune, artisan and village elder Vuong Van Cua is one of the last people still preserving the ancient secrets of making traditional Co Tu drums.

Amid the majestic Truong Son Mountain, the Pa Co people continue to preserve a sacred festival, where the sound of gongs and drums blends with the flickering red flames. A Rieu Piing is a time to honor ancestors, a communal celebration that illuminates the unique cultural values of the Pa Co community.

In the days leading up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, the children in my neighborhood have been joyfully practicing. Calling it a “unicorn dance troupe” sounds grand, but in fact, it’s just about a dozen kids from grades 1 to 7. One contributes an old drum, another brings a unicorn head or a Mr. Earth mask, while some dig through closets for their mothers’ Ao dai, … all gathered together to form an eager, lively team of little unicorn dancers.

Nurtured by the fire in a stilt house, enveloped in the lullabies of his grandmother and mother and the echo of gongs and drums from village festivals, Ho Pa Co A Teng was deeply imbued with the traditional cultural spirit of his people from an early age.

For hundreds of patients being treated at Hue Central Hospital, the afternoon of June 10 was a more bustling summer afternoon than usual as they enjoyed a unique cultural feature of the land of cherry blossoms from the Eisa Urakaji Drum Dance Art Troupe, which was participating in Hue Festival 2024.

The skillful and unique art performances from domestic and international art troupes gathering in Hue have created a bustling and colorful Hue Festival 2024. Wherever art troupes pass by, it is like a bustling stage with drums, artists' laughter, and prolonged applause from tourists and people of Hue.