Published:  14:17 Thursday - February 09, 2017

The annual festival took place on February 8 and 9, which fell on the 12th and 13th days of the Lunar New Year. It is being held in Lim Town and Noi Due and Lien Bao Communes.

A large number of local people and visitors have flocked to Tien Du District in the northern province of Bac Ninh to attend the Lim Festival, which is dedicated to quan ho (love duet singing) recognised as the world’s intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.

The incense-offering rituals will be held at local temples and pagodas during the festival.

The Lim festival contributes to preserving the locality’s traditional culture and promotes the image and tourism potential of Bac Ninh.

Besides quan ho singing, Lim Festival is also a space for various folk games such as traditional wrestling, human chess, cock fighting, earthenware pot breaking and bamboo swinging.

Love duet singing was added to UNESCO’s representative list of intangible cultural heritage in September 2009.

It is an art form combining various elements, including music, lyrics, costumes and a unique style of singing that reflects the close relationship between singers. Performances of love duet songs are made by lien anh(“brothers”) and lien chi (“sisters”), who are ordinary people hailing from different villages.

The rich and diverse tunes and fine lyrics of the songs portray the zest for life and distinctive cultural features of people in the region formerly called Kinh Bac.