First Thang Long–Ha Noi Festival 2025 concludes, honoring city's heritage

Under the theme "Heritage – Connection – Era", the event attracted the participation of 200,000 turns of visitors, along with almost one million engagements via social media. Its success has demonstrated that heritage is a sustainable development resource for the capital city.

An important series of artistic and cultural events were held, serving as a bridge between heritage and creativity, making contribution to promoting the image of the thousand-year-old civilized capital and affirming Ha Noi's position as a member of the UNESCO's Creative Cities Network.

The event also served as a platform for broad international exchange, with the participation of leaders from provinces and cities, as well as ambassadors from various countries and representatives of international organizations in Ha Noi.

Remarkably, the puppetry festival was the longest and largest ever held, featuring 19 puppetry troupes with nearly 800 performers, artists, and artisans, attracting large crowds of Ha Noi residents as well as international tourists while the Ha Noi Tourism Ao Dai Festival saw the attendance of nearly 25,000 visitors.

Events held at the Temple of Literature drew 75,000 participants. Notably, for the first time, a 360-degree performance stage was set up at the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, featuring symbolic representations of the Thang Long Tu Tran-the four most sacred temples.

Ha Noi amongst "Best Cities for Art and Culture"

With a history spanning over a millennium and a deeply rooted cultural identity, Ha Noi has been recognized by the UK-based Time Out magazine as one of the world's top 20 cultural destinations for 2025.

The capital city proudly tops Asia and 9th globally among the elite cities for its rich artistic and cultural experiences in Time Out's "The World's 20 Best Cities for Culture Right Now" introduction.

The result is a list of 20 of the most vibrant and dynamic cultural hubs across the globe – places where art, music, and heritage are alive and accessible to residents and visitors.

Time Out portrays Ha Noi as a captivating city where "the past is never far from the present." In the heart of the Old Quarter, travelers might stumble upon traditional music performances featuring instruments like the dan day (long-necked lute) and the dan nguyet (moon-shaped lute). Just a few streets away, modern rock concerts light up the night at venues like Ha Noi Rock City.

Travel writer Joey Gann highlights the unique charm of Ha Noi: "What's charming about modern, youthful Hanoi is that the past is never far away." "In the Old Quarter, the group Dong Kinh Co Nhac breathes new life into ancient silk-stringed instruments, while across town at Ha Noi Rock City, up-and-coming local bands command packed dancefloors."

The city's fashion scene also caught the spotlight. Designers like Kilomet109 and Subtle Le Nguyen are reimagining traditional ethnic textiles and bringing them to the global fashion stage, drawing inspiration from centuries-old silk weaving traditions.

Ha Noi stands out as the most affordable city for art and culture on Time Out's list with 82 percent of locals praise its accessibility and value.

The capital city welcomed 28.22 million visitors over the last 10 months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 21.9 percent, the municipal Department of Tourism has reported.

Of the figure, 6.17 were foreigners, up 23.6 percent against the same period last year./.