Campfire dance night «Đêm giao lưu văn hóa văn nghệ cộng đồng»

   Every evening the old quarter of Dong Van (Đồng Văn), a town on a karst plateau right by the Chinese border, gathers around a campfire: travelers from Vietnam and abroad form one huge circle and dance to songs about the Northwest (Tây Bắc), the beauty of Ha Giang (Hà Giang) and love for the homeland. If you have made it to Dong Van, this is the quickest way to go from stranger to friend.

   The night is called «Đêm giao lưu văn hóa văn nghệ cộng đồng», roughly a community culture and arts night. It was started about three years ago by Sung Manh Hung (Sùng Mạnh Hùng), a staff member of the Dong Van area culture center (Trung tâm Văn hóa khu vực Đồng Văn), better known to many visitors as Hung Ha Giang (Hùng Hà Giang). He noticed that people visiting the old quarter only had dinner in the evening and went to bed, so he proposed lighting a campfire and dancing freely to music. Hung is Hmong; also three years ago, his first videos of traditional Hmong dances went viral and brought more visitors to Dong Van. At the evenings he adapts those moves so that anyone can join in.

   The evening in numbers:
— about 1,000 guests on weekdays and 4,000–5,000 on weekends, as VnExpress reported in March 2026
— visitors from 124 countries have come to Dong Van, according to Pham Duc Nam (Phạm Đức Nam), chairman of the commune People's Committee
— a crew of 10 hosts, mostly young people from local ethnic minorities

   No one makes an appointment: at the usual hour, people who were just having dinner or coffee drift over to the community yard (sân sinh hoạt cộng đồng) of the old quarter. The young hosts stand in the front row and lead the moves so nobody feels shy, and the crowd forms a circle around the fire and dances however it likes. When revolutionary songs and songs in praise of the homeland play, Hung says, the whole circle falls into one rhythm. The yard below the square cannot hold everyone, so many watch from above or from the cafés around it.

   The night draws people of all ages, and you do not need to know how to dance. Language is no barrier either: for Hung, music is the best way to connect people who do not share one. «We dance the way we like. Even though we don't understand each other's language, everyone is laughing», a French traveler told VnExpress. Hung says many foreign visitors even change their plans to stay in Dong Van an extra day.

   There is another side to these evenings. Hosts are chosen first of all from local young people, and among them from poor families: the work helps them pay for school. Hung trains each crew for three years and steers them toward university after high school. The local authorities once offered budget support, but he chose to keep the evening going on guests' contributions so that state funds can go to families in need.

   Dong Van's old quarter took shape in the early 20th century, when a few Hmong, Tay and Hoa (ethnic Chinese) families settled here. Two-story houses with yin-yang roof tiles and red lanterns show a strong Chinese influence, and the stone market built in the 1920s is almost intact. All around lies the Dong Van Karst Plateau (Cao nguyên đá Đồng Văn), a UNESCO Global Geopark since 2010; since 2025 the area has been part of Tuyen Quang province (Tuyên Quang).

   The evening runs on voluntary contributions from guests. «I'm glad every visitor is willing to chip in a little 'firewood' to keep the night going», Hung told VnExpress, adding that rumors on social media about bigger donors getting to light the torch first are untrue. Sources differ on the start time by half an hour: VnExpress gave 19:30–21:30 in March, while Tuổi Trẻ wrote of a gathering at 20:00 sharp in September, so come a little early.

   If you find yourself in Dong Van, do not head straight back to your room after dinner: the warmest part of the old quarter begins in the circle by the fire.