Cai Rang Floating Market Festival 2018 opens

The Cai Rang Floating Market Culture and Tourism Festival 2018 opened on July 7.

The event which runs till July 9 features a lot of cultural activities, such as a parade of cruiseships,boat race, sport and folk games, exhibition promoting the Mekong Delta tourism, seminars on attracting visitors to Cai Rang floating market, performance of Don Ca Tai Tu music which has been officially recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Cai Rang Floating Market is on the Hau River which is part of Mekong Delta river basin. The market is a top tourism destination in Can Tho City and attracts a great number of local and international visitors every year. The UK’s Rough Guide has just elected the Cai Rang Floating Market as one of ten most impressive markets in the world.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism added Cai Rang Floating Market in Can Tho City to Vietnam’s list of national intangible cultural heritages in 2016.

The festival is expected to become an annual event to draw more local and international tourists to Can Tho City, said Vice director of the municipal Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism, Le Minh Son.

Can Tho received more than 4.4 million local and foreign visitors in the first six months, up 13 percent compared with same period last year and earned a total revenue of over VND1,790 billion (US$77.8 million).

Can Tho authorities have launched a project worth VND63 billion to preserve and develop the market from 2016-2020 with a vision towards 2030.

Can Tho City draws millions of tourists annually with its main tourism focusing on waterway ecological, fruit gardens, traditional culture. Travellers have been interested in tours to Cai Rang and Phong Dien floating markets; Au, Khuong, Son, Tan Loc and Cai Khe islets; fruit gardens. Cruise ships along the river gives visitors a chance to experience the riverside lifestyle; enjoy local delicacies or the Don ca tai tu (Southern traditional amateur music) and much more.

The city has many green tourist areas such as My Khanh, Bang Lang Stork Sanctuary and Binh Thuy orchid garden. It is also a big religious tourist site with many pagodas and temples.

Can Tho has developed a strong and advantageous traffic system whereby tourists can travel by land, air or waterway.