Gong sounds attract tourists
In remote villages of Gia Lai such as Kbang, Chu Pah, Kong Chro, Chu Se, Duc Co... besides teaching gong playing and gong adjustment skills to the younger generation, artisans also contribute to arousing love for national culture.
Many young students have been able to use gongs proficiently in community activities, local and provincial cultural festivals. Teaching classes not only help inherit heritage but also raise awareness about the role of preserving and promoting the Central Highlands gong cultural space.
In To Tung commune, the Leng village women's gong club was established in July 2014 with 60 members. In recent years, the club has impressed with its strong but still flexible and rhythmic performance style.
The appearance of female gong clubs has created a big surprise, gradually eliminating the long-standing view that gong playing is a job for men. Ms. Dinh Thi Chop - Deputy Head of the Club - shared: "According to Ba Na customs, women are not allowed to play gongs. But with love and responsibility for national culture, we strive to bring new vitality to the heritage. When the village elder allows it, everyone is very excited.
From traditional gong songs in the ceremony of abandoning graves, celebrating new rice... to new performances such as celebrating the Party, celebrating Spring, praising soldiers, remembering Uncle Ho, Gia Lai gong teams have participated in many major programs such as "Weekend gong - Enjoying and Experiencing", Tay Nguyen gong Festival, Provincial Ethnic Culture Festival...
During a survey trip to build schools in border areas in mid-March 2026, Mr. Thai Dai Ngoc - Secretary of Gia Lai Provincial Party Committee requested that in addition to quality schools, functional agencies should pay attention to investing in equipment for extracurricular activities, teaching, preserving traditional culture, especially the Central Highlands gong and chieng cultural space.
Currently, Gia Lai has more than 70 gong and chieng teams participating in performances at home and abroad, with over 600 artisans. Through these activities, the image of the people and culture of the Central Highlands is vividly promoted, contributing to attracting international tourists.
Rong house - the soul of the great forest
Coming to Gia Lai, tourists cannot help but be impressed with the towering, solid Rong houses, cultural symbols, and spiritual supports of the community in the great forest. Rong houses are not only a place for community activities, propaganda, and dissemination of laws, but also preserve memories, art, and a solidarity lifestyle through many generations.
To serve tourism development, Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee has assigned departments and branches to study the construction of typical Rong houses of the Jrai people in Ia Gri village, Bien Ho commune (belonging to the planning of Bien Ho - Chu Dang Ya Volcano National Tourist Area).
The project is required to maintain the traditional architecture, use local materials, be suitable for customs and habits, and harmonize with the landscape and sustainable tourism development orientation. Previously, a concrete Rong house here was forced to be dismantled due to inappropriate design, affecting the natural landscape.
In Ia Ly commune, the government and people have just inaugurated the Kep 1 village communal house, a project built according to the traditional model, with a towering roof, bearing the characteristic colors of basalt land.
According to the Commune People's Committee, Kep 1 village communal house belongs to the community tourism infrastructure project of Ia Mo Nong commune (now Ia Ly commune). The inauguration ceremony takes place according to the traditional rituals of the Jrai people, notably the buffalo eating ceremony with lucky rituals.
Vice Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Huu Que emphasized: "The Rong house after being put into use will become a cultural highlight of the locality, and at the same time requested people to join hands to preserve and promote the value of the project.
The Kep 1 village communal house project not only contributes to promoting community tourism but also creates conditions to preserve and promote traditional cultural identity, concretizing Resolution No. 80 of the Politburo on the development of Vietnamese culture”.
On March 28, the opening art program of the National Tourism Year - Gia Lai 2026 will take place at 8:10 PM at Nguyen Tat Thanh Square (Quy Nhon ward), in a large-scale real-scene format, combining performing arts and modern stage technology.
With a structure of 4 consecutive art chapters including: Origin - Spirit of the Great Forest - Spirit of Tay Son - Great Forest Touching the Blue Sea, the program promises to attract many tourists and locals.
The opening night of National Tourism Year 2026 affirmed the stature of a national-level music festival when mobilizing up to 2,200 operating and performing personnel. Among them, 500 people belong to the production - content - communication team, 400 extras, 300 dancers and circus artists, 500 security - mobile - security personnel and 500 logistics personnel in charge of reception, hygiene and health throughout the event.
