Attending the art program were former Politburo member, former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung; General Le Hong Anh, former Politburo member, former Permanent Member of the Party Central Committee's Secretariat; Member of the Party Central Committee, Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Tien Hai; Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Provincial Party Secretary, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Ho Van Mung; Permanent Deputy Provincial Party Secretary, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council Nguyen Thanh Nhan; Deputy Provincial Party Secretary, Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the province Tran Thi Thanh Huong; former provincial leaders; and representatives from departments, sectors, localities, as well as tourists from within and outside the province.

Exactly 290 years ago, in the spring of the Year of the Fire Dragon (Binh Thin) 1736, Tong Binh Do Doc (Commander-in-Chief and Governor) of Ha Tien, Mac Thien Tich, organized a lantern festival and founded the Tao Dan Chieu Anh Cac - a center that gathered talented scholars, a place for literary exchanges and philosophical discussions, forging the spirit and intellect of the sacred land at the extreme southwestern corner of the Fatherland.

From Chieu Anh Cac, Ha Tien's literature flourished magnificently with renowned literary works, making Ha Tien regarded as one of the cradles of literature in the South. The literary circle has been assessed by historical and literary researchers as the second largest literary circle in the history of Vietnamese literature, only after the Tao Dan Nhi Thap Bat Tu founded by King Le Thanh Tong; and at the same time, the longest-lasting literary circle in the frontier region.

In his opening speech, Deputy Party Secretary and Chairman of the People's Committee of Ha Tien Ward, Tran Hai Quoc, stated that the festival commemorating the 290th anniversary of the founding of the Tao Dan Chieu Anh Cac in 2026 was organized with rich content imbued with national cultural identity, aimed at honoring the cultural and literary achievements of the forefathers; awakening pride and love for the homeland and the country; while also promoting the image of Ha Tien - a heritage land, friendly and hospitable - to friends both domestically and internationally.

Over more than three centuries of formation and development, Ha Tien today is rising strongly, affirming its position as a dynamic border urban area, a key center of economy, culture, and tourism in the southwestern region of the Fatherland. In that journey, the Tao Dan Chieu Anh Cac remains a priceless heritage, a symbol of the intellect and soul of the land of Ha Tien, past and present.

Promoting the value of that tradition, Ha Tien has set a key objective in the coming period to officially designate the Tao Dan Chieu Anh Cac Festival as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage. At the same time, Ha Tien is determined to develop into a distinctive cultural-tourism urban area of the Mekong Delta.

The art program was themed: Ha Tien - A Frontier Land - A Land of Poetry. In addition, within the framework of this year's festival, many humanitarian traditional activities with meaningful educational value and the cultural identity of the frontier region continued to be organized, such as: the Heaven and Earth Worship Ceremony praying for national peace and people's well-being at the Son Xuyen foundation atop Binh San Mountain; incense offering at the Mac Family Temple; the inauguration ceremony of the restoration and embellishment project of the historical-cultural relic of the Memorial House of poets Dong Ho and Mong Tuyet - Reconstruction of Tri Duc Hoc Xa; the aquatic species release ceremony to regenerate aquatic resources at Dong Ho Lagoon; art programs, float parades; Calligraphy Street, photo exhibitions of Ha Tien past and present, book and artifact displays; street activities, tourism promotion, and culinary events.

The highlight of the evening was the fireworks display, attracting thousands of people to watch. The program concluded with the Nguyen Tieu Lantern Festival - a traditional cultural ritual characteristic of Ha Tien. Each lantern lit and released along the gentle currents of Dong Ho Lagoon not only carried wishes for peace and happiness but also expressed the aspiration for a prosperous, sustainable, and compassionate Ha Tien./.

Reported by NHU NGOC

Translated by Kim Thuan