Red cotton flower festival space by the river.

When the cotton flowers on the hillsides and riverbanks begin to bud and bloom bright red, it is also the time when the ethnic people here begin a new year with unique traditional festivals and rituals, praying for a new year of health, luck, and bountiful harvests. This is also the time when the spring weather is warm, the sunshine is bright yellow, the Quynh Nhai lake is deep blue, reflecting the towering limestone mountains, inviting tourists to visit and enjoy the majestic and poetic space of the lake.

Delegates and a large number of people and tourists participated in the Red Cotton Flower Festival by the river.

Comrade Trang Thi Xuan, Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee and delegates participated in the wrist-tying ceremony.

The festival was attended by more than 150 artisans, actors, and mass art performers from ethnic folklore clubs, art troupes, and “Preserving Cultural Identity” clubs from villages and sub-regions of communes and towns in the district. The highlight of the festival was the performance recreating an excerpt from the Kin Pang Then Festival of the Quynh Nhai White Thai people. This is a long-standing traditional festival preserved by the local White Thai people. In 2020, the Kin Pang Then Festival was included in the list of national intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The Kin Pang Then Festival, also known as the “Festival of Adopted Children”, has been maintained for a long time, with the main meaning being for the “adopted children” to express their gratitude to the person who cured their illness and pray for health, luck, and a bountiful harvest in the new year. The festival also has a special part with performances of the music fruit dance, cockfighting dance, conical hat dance, Tinh lute dance, xoe dance, etc., creating a joyful and exciting atmosphere, strengthening community solidarity.

Reenactment of an excerpt from the Kin Pang Then Festival of the White Thai people in Quynh Nhai district.

People's Artist Dieu Van Minh, Muong Giang town, is the "mo then" master who directs the reenactment of the Kin Pang Then festival, sharing: For many years, Muong Giang town has maintained an art troupe of elderly people, artisans, people who love traditional culture and wish to preserve and promote the culture of the nation. Being able to perform and re-enact the festival to serve the public like this, we are very happy, feel honored and proud, and feel that we have more responsibility in preserving the traditional culture of the nation.

Black Thai wrist tying ceremony.

In the space of the Red Cotton Flower Festival by the River, people and tourists also witnessed the Wrist Tying Ceremony (Praying for Peace Ceremony) of the Black Thai people in Quynh Nhai, held on New Year's Day with the meaning of praying for good health, family harmony and happiness in the new year. The performance was performed by folk artists and the traditional art troupe of Bo Xanh village, Muong Gion commune. This is a long-established art troupe with members from many generations. Under the guidance of the elderly artists, the art troupe brought to the audience a traditional ritual with many meanings.

Performing arts with strong national identity.

Immersing herself in the festival atmosphere, Ms. Nguyen Bao Trang, a tourist from Hanoi, excitedly shared: I was very impressed with the performances of traditional festival excerpts. Traditional rituals are still preserved and maintained by the people, which is very valuable. In addition, the festival reconstruction also has artistic and entertaining performances, helping to make the festival atmosphere more vibrant and exciting, attracting everyone to participate.

Participating in the Red Cotton Flower Festival by the River, people and tourists can also enjoy impressive performances imbued with national cultural identity, such as: Traditional Xoe and Sap dance performances of the Thai ethnic group; Thai ethnic musical instrument ensembles, solo performances of the Erhu and Tinh lutes; performances of unique Mong ethnic dances, modern folk dances, etc.

The performance is imbued with Mong ethnic identity.

Mong flute performance.

Ms. Luong Thi Duyen, Vice Chairman of Quynh Nhai District People's Committee, said: The Red Cotton Flower Festival by the River is one of the activities within the framework of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Week of Quynh Nhai District in 2025. With this activity, Quynh Nhai wishes to introduce and promote the unique cultural features and valuable cultural heritages of ethnic groups to friends and visitors from near and far. Quynh Nhai District also determined to continue to maintain the annual event of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Week and activities to restore traditional festivals, continue to research and innovate in organization methods to create a highlight event for Quynh Nhai tourism, attract more and more tourists and contribute to preserving and promoting the traditional cultural values ​​of ethnic groups, contributing to promoting local tourism.

Experience bamboo dancing.

The Red Cotton Flower Festival by the River brings a unique cultural space of the ethnic groups in the Quynh Nhai Lake area. The restored performances both preserve the original identity and value, and have performance elements to meet the tastes of the audience. This is also an activity that brings a vibrant atmosphere, creating attraction for the Quynh Nhai District Culture, Sports and Tourism Week in 2025, contributing to spreading and promoting the cultural image and people of the land by the Da River to a large number of tourists from near and far.

According to: Son La Newspaper