An art performance opens the Chieu Anh Cac Literary and Poetry Society Festival and launches 2019 Tourism Year. (Photo: Hong Dat /VNA)

The society, Vietnam’s second biggest literary coterie, was established by Mac Thien Tich on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in 1736, offering a venue for writers, poets, and painters nationwide to gather to participate in literary activities on Nguyen Tieu, the 15th day of the first lunar month.

On this occasion, Ha Tien inaugurated a Chieu Anh Cac memorial house in the Bình San Mountain Cultural and Historical Area.

Musician Duong Minh Duc, Vice President of the provincial Arts and Literature Association, said: “We try to restore the traditions of the Chieu Anh Cac literary and poetry society, like introducing poems by Mac Thien Tich, the society’s founder, poetry readings, drawing by poems, and cultural exchanges involving local artists. Through such activities, artists can share their opinions on how to preserve Vietnamese traditions.”

The second runner-up of Miss Vietnam 2018, Thuy An, joins the flower parade through main roads of Ha Tien city. (Photo: Hong Dat /VNA)

The festival featured flower garlands and colored lanterns at Dong Ho pond and a flower procession along the main roads of Ha Tien city.

Trinh Thi Xuan, a Ha Tien resident, said: “This year’s festival was the biggest ever, because Ha Tien has been upgraded to a city. People of all ages were happy to attend the festival.”