Over 300 Artisans Join Gong Festival in Lam Dong

The 6th Gong Culture Festival of Lam Dong province was held from April 20-24 in Don Duong district, Lam Dong province, featuring over 300 gong artisans from 12 troupes in the locality. The gong troupes represented the two major ethnic groups in Lam Dong who speak the Mon-Khmer and Ma languages. This year’s festival included three main gong cultures, the Ma, K’ho and Churu, aiming to preserve and promote gong culture, which was recognized as by UNESCO as intangible world cultural heritage in 2005. The festival highlights included a parade and performances by the 12 gong troupes, which attracted thousands of local people and visitors. Traditional folk games and food of ethnic minority groups in the Central Highlands were also introduced during the festival. In addition, the 41 best gong players in the province were awarded the title of ‘Gong Artisan’. (Nhandan.org.vn April 23)