On 25th June (ig 1st June of Lunar New year), Mong Cai city held an inauguration ceremony of Tra Co communal house festival in 2025. The event attracted a large number of attendants including locals and tourists, which opened a special cultural activity series that took place on 25th June to 28th June (ig 30th May to 3rd June of Lunar New Year).

Tra Co communal house festival is one of the characterised cultural activities of Mong Cai city, which is imbued with North East sea region’s identity and thousand year tradition of people here. The old communal house is an unique and distinguished art architecture that affirms high-level building skills of Vietnamese. In 2019, the festival was recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage; by 2023, Tra Co communal house was officially classified as a Special National Monument.

The event doubled down to host city-scale, which aims to show the gratitude to predecessors’ credit, who played a vital role in building villages and protecting the nation. Each ritual is deeply imbued with folk beliefs, serving as an inseparable part of the spiritual and cultural life of the Tra Co community.

The festival features a lively atmosphere with a variety of traditional cultural and sporting activities, attracting the enthusiastic participation of both locals and visitors. Highlights include the unique “Mr. Elephant” contest — a distinctive feature of the festival — as well as folk games such as blindfolded drumming and painting, creating a joyful, vibrant environment that fosters community togetherness.

After nearly 30 years since its restoration, the Tra Co Communal House Festival became a cultural and tourist highlight of Mong Cai city and connected the local community of Tra Co.

With a system of 60 cultural and scenic sites — including 1 Special National Monument, 4 national-level relics, 12 provincial relics, and 8 national intangible cultural heritages — Mong Cai is regarded as a region rich in important “cultural milestones.” The Tra Co communal house Festival is an occasion to promote the image of Mong Cai’s people and land to domestic and international visitors, contributing to the local tourism development.

Quang Ninh Center of Culture, Information and Tourism Promotion