Visit Con Son - Kiep Bac festival and shopping experience

Many 3-5 star OCOP products of Hai Phong are displayed, introduced and sold at the Culture, Tourism and Trade Promotion Week 2025.

Heritage, tourism and commercial convergence space

These days, the festival atmosphere is everywhere on the road leading to the Kiep Bac relic site ( Hai Phong ). Mr. Dinh Van Manh, from the Duoc Son residential group, Tran Hung Dao ward, just bought a few bottles of Cat Hai fish sauce and said: "This is the first time the cultural week has been organized on such a scale, and there are also products from the East of Hai Phong. I came to buy it for convenience, both for use and to support my hometown's products."

That is also the common sentiment of many local people when attending the Culture, Tourism and Trade Promotion Week within the framework of the Con Son - Kiep Bac Autumn Festival 2025. This year's event takes place from October 4 to 19, is an important highlight connecting cultural, tourism and trade activities, contributing to promoting the image of the heritage area to a large number of tourists.

As a resident of Tran Hung Dao ward, this is the first time Mr. Manh has seen the Culture, Tourism and Trade Promotion Week organized on such a large scale, with many new products of Dong Hai Phong.

The Culture, Tourism and Trade Promotion Week is a key event in the series of autumn festival activities, aiming to promote heritage values, link tourism development with trade promotion, and create momentum to boost local socio -economic development.

The Culture, Tourism and Trade Promotion Week is divided into three main exhibition spaces: traditional craft villages, agricultural products - OCOP area and tourism - cuisine area. In addition, there are folk art performances, craft demonstrations, cultural exchanges and new tourism experiences.

In the traditional craft village area, visitors can admire and interact with artisans from more than 10 typical craft villages such as Thanh Lieu woodblock printing, Chu Dau pottery, Chau Khe gold and silver, Dong Giao wooden furniture, Bao Ha lacquer, Xuan Neo lace embroidery, An An ao dai design...

The space is recreated in the style of an old market with rustic bamboo stalls, where the sounds of pestles, chisels, and hammers blend with the smell of new wood, creating a lively atmosphere. Visitors can try their hand at pottery making, embroidering, and mother-of-pearl inlaying. These experiences help them better understand the intricacies and values of traditional crafts.

Tourists enjoy the products of Bao Ha statue carving village.

The folk food area introduces dozens of Hai Phong specialties such as gai cake, green bean cake, Con Son lotus sweet soup, perch vermicelli, crab rice noodles, crab spring rolls, etc., attracting a large number of locals and tourists.

This year's OCOP and regional agricultural products exhibition space gathers 30 units, more than 200 products meeting 3-5 star OCOP standards of Hai Phong city such as yellow flower sticky rice, carrots, wild honey, tapioca starch... and many clean, high-quality agricultural products... These are not only consumer products but also proof of sustainable agricultural production capacity and unique identity of Hai Phong land.

At the Viet Y honey booth, Ms. Bui Thi Ha, Deputy Director of Viet Y Honey Joint Stock Company, shared: “We bring to the fair the purest wild honey. All units are proactive in preparing quality products with beautiful designs to promote the brand and strengths of the locality.” Ms. Ha said that many tourists visited the booth and bought products, many partners also came to learn, opening up opportunities for long-term cooperation.

This year, the culinary tourism area has been expanded with the participation of many travel agencies, restaurants, and hotels. Booths introduce new tour routes, heritage experience tourism programs, eco-resorts, and food tours.

Three new tours: “One journey - Five destinations”, “Following the footsteps of the Three Patriarchs of Truc Lam” and “Discovering the World Heritage of Con Son - Kiep Bac” have attracted the attention of many tourists. Many travel agencies have organized survey groups (famtrips) to build inter-regional tourism products.

At many food stalls displaying OCOP products, visitors can also enjoy the products right away.

In particular, the new and outstanding feature of this year's event is the demonstration and promotion of the process of craft village products and culinary processing right at the exhibition space. Here, artisans and chefs will directly operate and introduce to the people and tourists the process of making sophisticated handicraft products and unique and attractive traditional national dishes.

Driving force for tourism and local economic development

The Culture, Tourism and Trade Promotion Week within the framework of the Con Son - Kiep Bac Autumn Festival 2025 welcomed tens of thousands of visitors. Not only Hai Phong residents, but also many tourists from Hanoi, Quang Ninh, Bac Ninh... also came to attend.

Many people choose to combine a visit to Con Son and Kiep Bac relics with an experience of the fair and evening art program. The OCOP booths, craft villages, and cuisine are always crowded, creating a lively but still orderly and civilized atmosphere.

Mr. Dinh Van Manh added: “This year’s festival is more fun and crowded than before, the goods are abundant, there are many Hai Phong products so I am very excited. The festival atmosphere is truly meaningful, both sacred and close.”

The Culture, Tourism and Trade Promotion Week lasts from October 4 to 19 (previously planned to take place from October 4 to 12).

According to the Organizing Committee, the Culture, Tourism and Trade Promotion Week is not only a part of the autumn festival, but also a comprehensive promotional activity, contributing to trade development, promoting OCOP products, promoting tourism and spreading heritage values.

The event created an opportunity to connect businesses, artisans, locals and tourists, towards a sustainable development model, in which tourism is closely linked to local heritage and commerce.

Many businesses said they will continue to participate in upcoming festivals and coordinate with the tourism industry to develop unique products, making Con Son - Kiep Bac a typical destination in the world cultural heritage complex.

From traditional products, folk dishes to new tours, every activity shows the strong transformation of the heritage land. This year's Culture, Tourism and Trade Promotion Week not only brings a vivid picture of cultural and economic life, but also affirms the prosperity of the Con Son - Kiep Bac autumn, a festival season that is cohesive, sustainable and full of vitality.

LINH LINH

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/tray-hoi-con-son-kiep-bac-va-trai-nghiem-mua-sam-523044.html