On Sunday, the Viet Nam-Japan Cultural Exchange Festival 2017, entitled ‘Viet Nam-Japan: Sublimation Friendship’, ended with an interesting musical performance by arts troupes from Japan.  The performance was given as a sincere thank you to local residents for their warm welcome, friendliness, and hospitality towards the visiting Japanese artistes, and to all the people from Japan who are currently living, studying and working in the city.

A traditional Japanese fan dance

Organised at the former Han River Port from 28 - 30 July, this annual festival is a good opportunity for locals to learn more about the culture, land, and people of Japan.  Also, taking advantage of this meaningful event, Da Nang aimed to further advertise its beautiful images to Japanese citizens, attract more investors to the city from Japan, and foster the bilateral strategic cooperation and friendly relationship with Japan.

During the festival, the Japanese artistes introduced locals to distinctive Japanese culture and fine arts through tea ceremonies, calligraphy, Ikebana flower arranging, cosplay costume wearing, the traditional art of origami (folding paper to make models) and kirigami (cutting paper), and traditional sword and fan dances. Meanwhile, participating artistes from Da Nang performed traditional Vietnamese art forms including ‘bai choi’ (singing while acting as playing cards), Cham apsara dances, and the traditional dances of the Co Tu ethnic people.

The festival also featured a total of 150 cultural, cuisine and information stands offering a wide range of electronic products, electrical appliances, fashion clothes, cosmetics, handicrafts and other items.

Also highlighted during the festival were a Viet Nam-Japan football friendship match, a screening of the film ‘Giu Loi Ca Tren Moi’ (Kuchibiru ni uta wo), the final of the ‘Beauty Contest’ competition, a cosplay costume-wearing contest, and a Japanese eloquence competition.