Programme «Cội nguồn di sản giữa lòng Thủ đô» (Roots of Heritage in the Capital)

   Incense offered to the Hùng Kings, Xoan songs from the land the Vietnamese call their ancestral home, and bánh chưng rice cakes you make with your own hands by the ceremonial gate: three days at the Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism by Đồng Mô Lake are a chance to see living tradition up close. If you want your children to learn about Vietnamese roots by doing rather than reading, this is a day out worth planning.

   The programme is organised by the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to mark the Liberation of the Capital, around the village's ancestral worship area, Khu Nghi lễ thờ Tổ. Its centrepiece is the incense ceremony in memory of the Hùng Kings: officials, artisans and people representing all 54 ethnic groups of Vietnam carry offerings in procession, present them and burn incense, then lay flowers and incense at the Temple of the National Ancestor Hùng Vương.

   On 10 and 11 October Hùng Vương Square and the worship area turn into a folk performance stage:
— artisans and residents of Phú Thọ province bring Xoan and Ghẹo singing from the Hùng Kings' homeland
— Khmer people from Cà Mau present the traditions of Vietnam's southernmost region
— the ethnic communities who live and work in the village join in under the motto «Chung dòng máu Lạc Hồng», «one Lạc Hồng bloodline», a nod to the shared roots of all the country's peoples

   Visitors can also:
— make bánh chưng and bánh giầy, traditional Vietnamese rice cakes, at the ceremonial gate (Nghi Môn)
— play human chess in Hùng Vương Square
— see the photo exhibition «Cội nguồn di sản giữa lòng Thủ đô», about 100 photographs and panels on how the worship area was built, on Hùng King worship and on the cultural life of the ethnic communities
— explore a Hanoi culture and food corner with traditional arts, craft-village products and signature dishes
— browse specialities and OCOP-certified products from Hanoi, Phú Thọ and other provinces

   It suits families with children, school students who would benefit from a history lesson outside the classroom, anyone drawn to folk culture and the diversity of Vietnam's peoples, and travellers who want to watch a traditional rite performed in full.

   Hùng King worship in Phú Thọ was inscribed by UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2012. For generations Vietnamese people have honoured the Hùng Kings, the legendary founders of the ancient state of Văn Lang, at Nghĩa Lĩnh mountain in Phú Thọ and at temples and shrines across the country; the ceremony at the village brings that practice into the capital.

   Xoan singing, also called «khúc môn đình», songs at the communal-house door, is a ritual chant said to date back to the Hùng Kings. UNESCO listed Phú Thọ's Xoan singing as heritage in need of urgent safeguarding in 2011; on 8 December 2017, after six years of revival work, it was moved to the Representative List, the first transfer of its kind.

   The village covers 1,544 hectares by Đồng Mô Lake, where the Red River plain meets the Ba Vì mountains. Traditional houses of all 54 ethnic groups are rebuilt there at full scale, and about 120 people from 16 ethnic groups live on site every day. Since 1 July 2026 the village has been run directly by the Hanoi city government, and on 5 October 2026 it was recognised as a city-level tourist area.

   The programme runs from 9 to 11 October: the incense ceremony starts at 9:00 on 10 October, and the folk performances take place on 10 and 11 October. Opening hours and admission for these days have not been announced.

   Several bus routes serve the village, and its car parks hold up to 600 motorbikes and 1,300 cars.

   Spend a day with Vietnam's 54 peoples as they honour their common roots.