Programme «Kỷ niệm Ngày Di sản văn hóa Việt Nam» (Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day)

   For two weeks the ancient town turns its heritage into a living street programme: exhibitions, traditional art performances and even a heritage run. Hoi An marks Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day the way only a town whose own history is recognised worldwide can.

   This year the occasion carries a double meaning: 27 years since Hoi An Ancient Town was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list, and 9 years since the art of bài chòi of Central Vietnam was recognised as intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

   According to Da Nang's official event calendar, the programme includes:
— themed exhibitions across the old town
— traditional art performances
— a heritage run through the historic centre
— free entrance to the ancient town on festive days

   The day-by-day schedule has not been published yet — expect details closer to late November.

   A living museum

   Hoi An was an international trading port from the 15th to the 19th century, hosting Japanese, Chinese and European merchants. Paradoxically, the trade decline of the 19th century preserved the town: about 1,360 historic structures, including more than 1,000 old houses and the early-17th-century Japanese Covered Bridge, survive almost intact.

   What is bài chòi

   Bài chòi is a folk art of Central Vietnam combining music, poetry, acting and painting — part game, part performance. UNESCO added it to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2017; in Hoi An, bài chòi singing by the river remains part of everyday life.

   Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day on 23 November is observed nationwide — but in Hoi An it blossoms into a two-week festival. If you are choosing when to visit the old town, these weeks give you the most reasons.