Tra Co communal house festival 2024 will take place on 6 to 8 July at Tra Co communal house national art architecture relic and neighboring areas of Tra Co tourist area (Tra Co ward, Mong Cai city, Quang Ninh province).

Tra Co communal house and the festival are remained in a hundred of historic years, which became a lure destination of domestic and foreign visitors. These are also special valuable relics of North Vietnam cultural air in general and the Northeast coast in particular; is a cultural heritage of the border area, where national cultural values are preserved with typical village communal art architecture, imbued with Vietnamese character and soul. At the same time, it is a place marking the great contributions of generations during the struggle building and shelling the country.

The festival is organized in 2 parts including the ritual and the festival. The ceremony includes many activities such as: The procession of fruit trays and magic lanterns into the communal house; sending Mr. Elephant to the communal house;  Opening ceremony; Welcoming the gods;  Enthronement ceremony; The ceremony moving the Mr. Elephant to his home; Ceremony of closing the caustic tree; offering gifts of the People and tourists; procession of vegetarian and salty machines of the old “Dam”; The ceremony of planting the causative tree… The procession and sacrifice of the new officials, the ceremony of sending the god…

The event has activities: Mr. Elephant exam marking, folk games (net knitting contest, tug of war, walking on stilts, sack dancing…)…

In particular, a special making of Tra Co communal house festival is a “Mr. Elephant” procession (female pigs are cleanly and carefully taken care of by the “officials” and considered as the pet’s God, as well as “Mr. Elephant”). The ritual is continued regularly by locals. 

In addition, Tra Co communal house festival is one of the unique and traditional-imbued festivals of Vietnam’s Northeast territorial waters, reflecting deeply Vietnamese’s solidarity, attachment, and love lifestyle. It is also an occasion of locals showing their gratitude, commemoration with communal Gods. Besides, Tra Co people also express sense of responsibility in preserving, protecting their land and tradition, making up the border area becoming more and more strong and wealth.

In conclusion, the event is a right time to promote the remarkable values of Tra Co communal house festival and historic relics, as well as the cultural beauties of Mong Cai city to domestic and international tourists.

Quang Ninh Tourism Information Promotion Center