Vietnamese cultural colors at the Chingay-Singapore street festival

The Central Highlands gong culture and traditional Vietnamese ao dai will be the main highlights in the performance of the artist troupe from the Vietnam National Song and Dance Theatre participating in the parade at the Chingay street festival taking place in Singapore on the two evenings of February 27-28.

The Vietnamese delegation with about 40 dancers from the Vietnam Music, Dance and Song Theatre participated in the Chingay Festival 2015. Photo: Vietnam+

Chingay is the largest street performance festival held annually on the occasion of Chinese New Year by the Chinese community in Singapore since 1973.

This year's Chingay Parade is significant as it is one of a series of major events held throughout the year to mark Singapore's 50th anniversary of independence.

One of the notable highlights of this year's festival is that for the first time in 43 years, there will be about 1,000 international performing artists from 19 art troupes from 14 countries and territories coming to perform.

International artists at the 2015 Chingay Festival in Singapore. Photo: Vietnam+

The organizers affirmed that the large number of international artists participating in Chingay not only helps introduce the cultural characteristics of other ethnic groups to Singaporeans but also contributes to promoting relations and enhancing mutual understanding between Singapore and other ethnic groups.

Speaking to a VNA reporter, Mr. Nguyen Truong Giang - Head of the Vietnamese artist delegation participating in Chingay this year, said the delegation will focus on introducing the Central Highlands heritage culture recognized by UNESCO, along with some other traditional cultural features of Vietnam, such as the ao dai.

According to Mr. Nguyen Truong Giang, by bringing Vietnamese art troupes to festivals around the world, international friends will have more opportunities to understand more about the cultural identity of the Vietnamese people, and it is also an opportunity to exchange and discuss in order to expand more comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and the world.

The organizers said that two weeks before the Chingay Parade officially took place, all tickets for the two-day performance at the main area, the F1 Pit Building, were sold out. In addition, this year's Chingay Parade, themed "We Love Singapore", will also return to the streets for the first time in many years on March 1 on the central Orchard Road. Chingay performances and parades will also take place in five major residential communities in Singapore.

According to Vietnam+