Water show «Tinh Hoa Bắc Bộ» (The Quintessence of Tonkin)

   Near Thay Pagoda (chùa Thầy), at the foot of the mountain, a lake becomes a stage: fishermen, scholars on their way to the imperial exams, celestial musicians and a boisterous village festival all appear on the water. If you want the culture of the Red River Delta in a single evening, this show west of central Hanoi is worth the trip.

   «Tinh Hoa Bắc Bộ», «the quintessence of Northern Vietnam», is a thực cảnh show, a live-scenery production in which nature itself is the set. The stage is a 4,300 m² lake at the foot of Thay Mountain in the former Sai Son commune (Sài Sơn), now part of Quoc Oai commune (Quốc Oai) within Hanoi. Its operator, Tuan Chau Hanoi (Công ty cổ phần Tuần Châu Hà Nội), bills it as Vietnam's first show of the genre; it has run since 2017, on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. According to VnExpress, hidden walkways under the water let the actors move around, and submerged sets appear without warning mid-show.

   The story draws on the monk Tu Dao Hanh (Từ Đạo Hạnh), founder of Thay Pagoda: legend has it that before taking his vows he treated the poor for free and taught farmers to grow crops and play folk games, water puppetry above all. The show unfolds in six scenes:
— Thi ca (Poetry): a riverside village inspired by Nguyen Khuyen's (Nguyễn Khuyến) poem «Thu điếu» (Autumn Fishing), the folk song «Tát nước đầu đình» and northern lullabies
— Cõi Phật (Buddha's Realm): the legend of Tu Dao Hanh
— Hoài cổ (Nostalgia): scholars setting off for the imperial exams, with echoes of the Thang Long Imperial Citadel
— Nhạc họa (Music and Painting): four beauties from a «Tố nữ» folk painting of the Hàng Trống school play the flute (sáo), pipa (tỳ bà), two-string fiddle (nhị) and moon lute (nguyệt), and then fairies dance across the water
— An vui (Peace and Joy): a hầu đồng spirit-medium ritual from the Mother Goddess religion
— Ngày hội (Festival Day): quan họ call-and-response singing, folk games and a palanquin procession, ending with the farewell song «Người ơi người ở đừng về»

   The cast are local farmers from Sai Son, joined, according to the ticketing page, by first-year students from a Hanoi dance school. In 2018 the Vietnam Records Organization (Tổ chức Kỷ lục Việt Nam) certified two national records for the show: the largest water stage in Vietnam and the most farmer-actors in a single show (150 at the time). The same year it won a gold Stevie Award in the Asia-Pacific competition, and CNN, as VnExpress reported, named it a must-see in Hanoi.

   It suits anyone who wants to see a lot of northern Vietnamese culture in one go — water puppetry, quan họ, the hầu đồng ritual, traditional instruments — without hunting it down theater by theater. Come early, too: according to the ticketing page, the Baara Land village market opens at 18:00, with folk games such as bamboo-pole dancing (nhảy sạp), skipping rope and ô ăn quan, plus a water puppetry museum.

   Seats come in three categories: Silver on the side stands and Gold in the central section, both open-air, and Platinum in the highest section, under a roof, with light snacks, sweets and bottled water. Wednesday tickets are cheaper than weekend ones, and public holidays are priced as weekends. Children under 90 cm go free and those between 90 cm and 1.3 m pay half price; the ticketing page recommends the show for viewers over 10.

   A round-trip bus runs from central Hanoi for 150,000 VND, sold only together with a show ticket. Pick-up is at the gate of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long (Hoàng thành Thăng Long), 19C Hoàng Diệu, between 15:45 and 16:00, or at Charmvit Tower (117 Trần Duy Hưng) between 16:30 and 16:45; for the return trip, the bus picks up at the gate right after the show.

   If you want to see a whole northern village come alive, from a fishing boat to a festival procession, spend an evening by Thay Pagoda.