Ethnic groups in the northern mountainous province Bac Kan held the Long Tong (Going to the field) festival on February 16-17 (the ninth and tenth days of the first lunar month) at Ba Be Lake in Nam Mau Commune, Ba Be District.

During the two day event, locals from Tay, Mong, and Dao ethnic minority groups in Ba Be and Cho Don Districts, as well as visitors, flocked to Ba Be Lake for the annual festival - a tradition of the Tay ethnic group.

The festival began with a traditional offering ritual of local specialties to gods to pray for favourable weather and healthy crops as well as health and a happy life.

The event also featured a wide variety of cultural and arts activities, attracting a large number of local people and visitors.

In addition, numerous traditional folk games were held, such as bull fighting, bit mat bat de (catching a ball while blindfolded), con throwing (a game throwing a cloth ball), and dug-out canoe racing, with decorations of floating flower garlands and coloured lanterns.

Joining the festival, in addition to enjoying the beautiful and imposing scenes of Ba Be Lake, visitors had a chance to learn more about the lives and traditional culture of the local ethnic people.

Long Tong Festival in Ba Be has been a tourist attraction on the occasion of the Lunar New Year for many years.

Source: NDO