Telling heritage stories alive with technology
The festival celebrating the 236th anniversary of the Ngoc Hoi - Dong Da victory (1789 - 2025) took place for the first time in the evening, with an art program combining semi-realistic form with modern 3D mapping technology.
Ms. Truong Thi Hoa (Dong Da district, Hanoi) is one of the members participating in the art performance with the theme "Dong Da - Golden history - Steady future" this year. Although she has performed in the Dong Da Mound Festival for about ten years, Ms. Hoa assessed that the program has never been held on such a large scale. When combined with projection technology, the art program is like a grand epic.
“I hope this event will resonate not only in Hanoi but also internationally, so that international friends can learn more about the heroic history of our nation,” said Ms. Hoa.
For the first time, the organization and staging of the large-scale stage were innovated, with the application of modern technology adding a magical touch to the performances under the night sky. The opening ceremony breathed new life into the atmosphere of the early Spring festival, leaving a deep impression on the audience.
Sitting among the audience, the family of Mr. Chu Van Dau and Ms. Vu Thi Tien (Bac Tu Liem district, Hanoi) shared: “My husband and I want our children to understand more about the history of the country, so we brought them to attend the program”. They and the audience highly appreciated the historical story conveyed through the performances of drums, singing and dancing… when combined with the element of projection technology.
Technology in traditional cultural events
During this year’s festival season, Hanoi is one of the localities that continues to apply information technology to manage and organize festivals. The most typical is the Huong Pagoda Festival.
Since the issuance of electronic tickets, the Huong Pagoda Festival has no longer had chaotic or disorderly images or recorded complaints from tourists about the situation of soliciting boat rides, overcharging, and lack of transparency in service prices...
In 2025, the new point in applying technology in the Huong Pagoda Festival is the QR code to manage passenger boats. Each boat will have a QR code for visitors to give feedback on the service attitude of the boat driver. Service time for visitors is from 4:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. every day. The Organizing Committee has integrated scenic tickets and boat tickets to ensure convenience for visitors when visiting, minimizing ticket issuance and control units.
Mr. To Chi Long (Tien Lu district, Hung Yen), a visitor to Huong Pagoda festival this year, said that the sightseeing experience was quite convenient, without having to wait or encounter touts or soliciting customers.
“I appreciate the ferry service this year when applying technology. Each ferry has a QR code, full of life buoys, umbrellas, free water... The ferrymen are all friendly and enthusiastic in welcoming guests. Overall, I am very satisfied with this year's Huong Pagoda Spring trip,” Long shared.
Mr. Long added that the QR code on each boat will allow visitors to evaluate the service quality of each boat in detail, helping the management board to grasp the situation and promptly respond to visitors if any problems arise. This is quite suitable for the current trend, when most sightseeing and tourism services have an online evaluation system.
Mr. Nguyen Minh Duc - Deputy Director of Huong Pagoda Tourism Service Cooperative - commented that there is no longer any situation of soliciting customers or forcing prices when applying electronic tickets and using a computer system to allocate the number of passengers on the boat.
“Boats are numbered, boat owners have higher income, and income is equal. Applying electronic tickets helps to be transparent, public, including children's tickets, avoiding disputes over ticket prices. Before operating, the management board spends time guiding and supporting members to access technology,” said Mr. Nguyen Minh Duc.
