Hue Royal Traditional Art Theater rehearsing the show in the Imperial City night street zone

Recreating the image of ancient Hue

Expected to be due from April 22nd, the opening of Hue Imperial City night street zone is the first one in the series of cultural and art activities organized by Hue City People's Committee to make the city more attractive at nighttime.

At the spaces outside the Imperial City which span 4 streets surrounding the Imperial Citadel, activities are going to be organized on August 23 St., and Le Huan St., in the immediate future, recreating the image of ancient Hue with various types of art performances, folk games, Hue traditional crafts and cuisine, etc.

Being open every Friday and Saturday night, the Imperial City night street zone will become lively with the art show "Nostalgia for ancient Hue", the performance of Royal Dance, together with the re-enactment of the Royal Guard Changing Ceremony and other community art activities such as Hue Singing, Pounding Rice Singing, Chau van, Performing Arts, Street Music, Live Statue, Bai Choi, Puppetry, Hip hop, Bamboo Flute, etc. In addition, there will be displays of different products along Le Huan street, together with opportunities to experience folk games, traditional crafts and cuisine, etc.,.

According to Mr. Tran Viet Hung, Director of the Center for Culture, Information and Sports of Hue City, performing arts activities in the Imperial City night street zone will be a selective combination of traditional and modern arts in order to promote unique art forms through Royal Music, Hue Singing, Chau van and traditional martial arts, etc., while at the same time introducing the youthful and vibrant aspects of modern ones to attract people from all walks of life.

Besides Hue Traditional Royal Art Theater, the art program at the Imperial City night street zone will also have the participation of Hue Singing Club, Intermediate School of Culture and Arts, Hue Ancient Capital Puppet Theater, Music clubs and bands, etc.

Mr. Vo Que, a poet, Chairman of Hue Singing Club, said: "In order to suit the open-air performance space, we will perform excerpts of Tuong (Vietnamese Classical Drama), Folk Songs, Chants, Chau van, etc. The artists of the club are very excited to perform in the Imperial Citadel night street zone. This is an opportunity for us to widely introduce traditional arts to locals and visitors."

Forming many cultural and art spaces

To diversify tourism products and create many areas for entertainment, cultural and art exchanges, culinary discovery and community activities at night, Hue City People’s Committee has formed many nighttime cultural and art spaces to attract tourists and locals, which contributes to promoting Hue's image, culture and people, as well as restoring and boosting socio-economic developments after COVID-19 pandemic.

Hue nighttime space will be bustling and vibrant with lyrics and melodies

According to the plan of Hue City People's Committee, there will be more cultural and art activities held from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays at various locations such as Pham Ngu Lao - Chu Van An - Vo Thi Sau Walking Street, February 3rd Park (near the Octagonal House), Tu Tuong Park, the exhibition venue of the Center for Culture, Information and Sports of Hue City, Nguyen Dinh Chieu Walking Street, Lieu Quan Buddhist Cultural Center, Quoc Hoc Stele Yard, Thuong Bac Park, Nghinh Luong Dinh Yard, the Provincial Center for Culture and Cinema, the Semicircular (Half-moon) Bridge - Phu Xuan Park, Hue Imperial City night street zone, the pedestrian routes on the north bank of the Perfume River, etc.

The pedestrian routes, parks as well as the cultural and art space axis will be bustling with the art performances, from contemporary music to traditional arts. While the former having the participation of music bands, guitar, hip-hop, rock, dance, sports clubs, etc., the latter introduces Hue's heritage values such as Hue Singing, Royal Music, Arts of the Royal Court and Hue Classical Drama.

In addition, various art forms will also be featured, namely unicorn dance, calligraphy, puppetry, live statue, traditional martial arts, etc. These provide not only a space for artists to create and perform, but a place for locals and tourists to entertain as well.

There are more than 30 clubs, associations, groups and a number of performing arts enterprises in Hue. This is an abundant resource to organize arts performance activities to serve the community.

After the temporary shutdown due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, clubs, associations and groups are very excited to participate in the performances to serve the community.

Mr. Dang Le Van, a member of the band called Guitar For You, said: "The band Guitar For You is very excited to prepare a special music program on the opening night of the Imperial City night street zone. Since this is the first time the members can play music in the space of the Imperial City, they really look forward to it."

Regarding operating expenses, Hue City People's Committee will partly finance units to organize the program by month, quarter, year or each event. At the same time, the practices of socializing the funds as well as encouraging individual and organizational participants to actively mobilize funding and patronage from other organizations and individuals according to their needs and abilities are also promoted.

According to Mr. Tran Viet Hung, although the spirit of operation is socialization, it is essential that units, music clubs and bands, as well as individual artists maintain their passion. Hence, even though there are units receiving full or partial socialized funds, some special activities must be fully funded, which requires Hue City People’s Committee to provide proper support, depending on the form of art.

In the immediate future, the Center for Culture, Information and Sports of Hue City, in cooperation with the Department of Culture and Information of Hue City, will focus on deploying activities in the Imperial City night street zone. Afterwards, the two units will evaluate the outcomes and draw some experience to deploy nighttime cultural and art activities in many other locations as planned.

Story & photos: Minh Hien