 |
Around 70 martial arts groups from nearly 30 countries and territories are performing and competing at the World Festival of Vietnamese Traditional Martial Arts held in the south central province of Binh Dinh.
The artists will enact the feats of legendary commanders of the Tay Son Dynasty, whose leader Nguyen Hue was a native of Binh Dinh, the land of martial arts, and went on to become Emperor Quang Trung in 1778.
He is credited with allowing religious freedom, re-opening Vietnam to international trade, and replacing Chinese with Vietnamese written script called Chu Nom.
The festival, which has been organized twice before, is one of the biggest cultural events of its kind organized in the Asia-Pacific region.
Among the groups attending the festival are the World Martial Arts Development Association and Vietnamese Martial Arts World Federation.
The opening ceremony on Sunday night is broadcast live from Quy Nhon Stadium on channels VTV1, VTV4 and Binh Dinh Television.
The festival ends Wednesday.
