On September 1, at the Thang Long Imperial Citadel, the Hanoi Department of Tourism in cooperation with the Thang Long – Hanoi Heritage Conservation Center and the Viet Village Club organized "Ao Dai Connects Tourism and Hanoi Heritage" program for the first time in 2023. This is an activity to commemorate the 78th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day on September 2.
More than 100 people, including officials, civil servants from agencies and units, people of Hanoi, friends from Vietnam and abroad, both men and women, dressed in ao dai to participate in the program.
After the launch ceremony, people paraded in ao dai with bicycles around the streets of Hanoi. The parade will pass through streets in the districts of Hoan Kiem, Ba Dinh, and Tay Ho, which are home to many tourist attractions: Hoang Dieu - Dien Bien Phu - Doc Lap (Ba Dinh Square) - Hoang Van Thu - Hung Vuong - Thanh Niên (Tran Quoc Pagoda) - Phan Dinh Phung - Hang Dau - Tran Nhat Duật - O Quan Chuong - Hang Chieu - Dong Xuan - Hang Khoai - Hang Luoc - Cha Ca - Luong Van Can - Le Thai To - Hang Khay - Dinh Tien Hoang (Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square) - Cau Go - Nguyen Huu Huan - Ly Thai To - Ngo Quyen - Ly Thuong Kiet - Le Thanh Tong - The Grand Theater - Trang Tien - Hang Khay - Trang Thi - Dien Bien Phu - Hoang Dieu - Thang Long Imperial Citadel.
This is the opening event for a series of events within the framework of "Hanoi Tourism Ao Dai Festival 2023", and is also an activity to connect ao dai with heritage and tourist destinations in Hanoi.
Mr. Nguyen Duc Binh, Chairman of the Viet Village Club, said that the program is a non-profit activity to promote the value of the traditional ao dai heritage. The Organizing Committee allocated funds from the operating fund of the Viet Village Club for members participating in the event to use bicycles for free.
"Ao Dai Connects Tourism and Hanoi Heritage" program aims to boost tourism in the capital, attract a large number of domestic and international tourists, and at the same time exploit and promote the traditional ao dai of the Vietnamese people associated with heritage and tourism. Through this, the Organizing Committee creates opportunities to promote and introduce Hanoi tourist destinations and hopes that the event will become an annual activity during the National Day on September 2 each year.
The Thang Long – Hanoi Heritage Conservation Center said that, to serve tourists, from September 1 to 4, the Thang Long Imperial Citadel also has a number of other notable highlights such as water puppet performances, night tours of the Thang Long Imperial Citadel, etc. It is estimated that in the first morning of the holiday period - the morning of September 1, the heritage site welcomed over 1,000 visitors./.