Linking heritage with tourism development through the Con Son - Kiep Bac festival 2025

The 2025 Con Son - Kiep Bac Autumn Festival is an opportunity for Hai Phong to affirm its position on the international tourism map. At the same time, it carries a new mission of transforming heritage values ​​into classy, ​​modern and sustainable cultural tourism products.

On the evening of October 12, at Kiep Bac Temple (Tran Hung Dao Ward, Hai Phong City), a large number of delegates, people and tourists from all over attended the 725th anniversary of the death of National Hero Tran Hung Dao and the opening ceremony of the Con Son - Kiep Bac Autumn Festival in 2025.

The 2025 Con Son - Kiep Bac Autumn Festival is an occasion to commemorate the 725th death anniversary of Hung Dao Dai Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan and the 583rd death anniversary of Nguyen Trai. This is the biggest highlight event of this year's festival season, with special significance as it is held for the first time after the Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac complex was recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage. In a solemn atmosphere, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man beat the drum to open the festival, officially opening the heritage festival season.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man beats the drum to open the Con Son - Kiep Bac Autumn Festival 2025.

Not only that, the festival was also held right after the 1st City Party Congress, demonstrating the determination to realize the new development policy: Building Hai Phong into a socialist city, an international cultural and tourist center.

The ceremony of reading the eulogy of Saint Tran was solemnly held at the opening ceremony.

At the festival, many new and attractive cultural - spiritual - tourist activities were organized, creating a vibrant atmosphere, attracting visitors from all over. This year's festival rituals and activities were upgraded in scale, standardized to be worthy of world heritage.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Le Ngoc Chau, Chairman of Hai Phong City People's Committee, said that in the past two years, Hai Phong City has had two heritages consecutively recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as world natural and cultural heritages. That is, in September 2023, along with Ha Long Bay, Cat Ba archipelago was recognized by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage. Next, in July 2025, at the 47th session, UNESCO honored the Con Son, Kiep Bac Monuments and Landscape Complex along with Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem as World Cultural Heritages.

Mr. Le Ngoc Chau, Chairman of Hai Phong City People's Committee read the opening speech of the festival.

“At this year’s Con Son - Kiep Bac Autumn Festival, Hai Phong City respectfully announces the city’s heritages that have been recognized by UNESCO so that people, tourists from all over the world and international friends can have more journeys to explore and experience the unique cultural and historical identity of Hai Phong City - the place where the quintessence of the heritage land converges”, Mr. Le Ngoc Chau added.

The 2025 Con Son - Kiep Bac Autumn Festival will be the largest ever with an expanded festival space. The organization ensures both solemnity and traditional rituals, while being modern, professional, and friendly to visitors. The ceremony will be fully performed, recreating the unique historical and cultural values ​​of the heritage site; the festival will be rich with many in-depth activities, associated with cultural - tourism - culinary - craft village experiences.

In addition, the Culture - Tourism and Trade Promotion Week is a highlight, aiming to introduce OCOP products, typical craft villages, along with unique culinary spaces and launch 3 new tours including: Tour 1 with the theme "A journey - 5 world heritage destinations", Tour 2 with the theme "Following the footsteps of the Three Patriarchs of Truc Lam", Tour 3 with the theme "Discovering the heritage of Con Son, Kiep Bac".

Along with that is the Festival of Saint Performance, OCOP fair space, craft villages, traditional cuisine, creating a colorful cultural picture. This is also an opportunity for local products to affirm their brands, linking economic development with heritage preservation.

Tourists visit Con Son - Kiep Bac relic site.

According to Ms. Tran Thi Hoang Mai, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Hai Phong, Con Son - Kiep Bac is the pride of Hai Phong people. To make the heritage an attractive destination, we need to know how to tell that story in a modern, vivid and familiar language." Comrade Tran Thi Hoang Mai said that the locality is consulting and planning to synchronously implement projects such as restoring the flow of Con Son stream, renovating the infrastructure of Kiep Bac temple, rebuilding Cuu Thien temple, embellishing Duoc Son medicinal garden combined with organizing festivals with many new forms of expression such as performing arts, digital technology, multilingual explanations. All aim to help domestic and foreign tourists access, understand and love the nation's heritage more deeply.

The 2025 Con Son - Kiep Bac Autumn Festival is the first unique and typical traditional cultural event after the merger of Hai Duong province (old) and Hai Phong city (old) and the Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac scenic relic complex was recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage.

The Con Son - Kiep Bac festival space is bright on the opening night of the autumn festival in 2025.

Con Son - Kiep Bac does not stand alone but is part of the world cultural heritage complex of Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac. Being recognized by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage opens up great opportunities to build inter-regional tourism routes, towards sustainable development.

In addition to maintaining solemn traditional rituals, the Organizing Committee focuses more on connecting the festival with the development of cultural and spiritual tourism. Programs and activities are promoting the application of digital technology in promotion, explanation, and tour guidance to enhance the experience for visitors and clearly introduce the cultural characteristics of the Con Son - Kiep Bac relic site, as well as the World Cultural Heritage Complex of Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac.

The Con Son - Kiep Bac festival space is bright on the opening night of the autumn festival in 2025.

“In the coming time, Hai Phong City also hopes that each investor interested in Hai Phong will become a 'talented architect', bringing their passion and creativity to embellish and increase the value of the heritage area. Each Tourism Association, each travel, transportation and service enterprise will be the 'designer' of new and unique tours and routes, connecting historical sites, craft villages, culinary products, and typical OCOP products of Hai Phong. Each resident of the heritage area will become an owner, a 'media ambassador', spreading meaningful messages about standardizing service quality, promoting digital transformation, developing unique products and regional linkages, and practicing green tourism. Thereby, building Hai Phong into a 'must-experience' destination in every tourist's journey", Mr. Le Ngoc Chau added.

In fact, the Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son - Kiep Bac Monuments and Landscape Complex is the first chain-type heritage and the second inter-provincial heritage among the nine World Heritages of Vietnam honored by UNESCO, affirming the unique value and global stature of Truc Lam Buddhism originating from the Yen Tu mountain range.

Con Son - Kiep Bac could become the top spiritual and cultural destination in the North. For domestic tourists, this is both a pilgrimage and a short vacation. For international tourists, especially Asian tourists interested in Truc Lam Buddhism, this is a stopover with profound experience value.

Having explored many famous historical sites in many countries around the world, Miles Robinson, a student passionate about studying Eastern culture from the United States, soon scheduled to attend the Con Son - Kiep Bac Autumn Festival in 2025 from the beginning of August right after the news that this place had just been honored as a World Cultural Heritage.

A large number of delegates, people and tourists attended the opening ceremony on the evening of October 12.

Mr. Robinson said that his experiences at Con Son - Kiep Bac this time were truly special. Witnessing the performances of the spirit mediums on a spiritual stage for the first time, combining sacred singing, sacred dancing, performance and traditional rituals, brought him many emotions. This was not only a religious ceremony but also a unique multi-sensory cultural experience, combining brilliant performing arts, deep spiritual beliefs and slices of national history.

“I feel really fascinated and excited to learn and explore more deeply about the Vietnamese national soul,” Robinson shared.

Transforming the cultural heritage value of Con Son - Kiep Bac into high-class tourism products is an inevitable direction in the integration and development process. With innovative thinking, professional working methods and regional cohesion, Con Son - Kiep Bac is gradually affirming its position on the world cultural heritage map.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/gan-ket-di-san-voi-phat-trien-du-lich-qua-le-hoi-con-son---kiep-bac-2025-d411038.html