Jrai villagers in Gia Lai gather for traditional water source ceremony

Kép village has been selected to represent Gia Lai province in Vietnam’s 2026 “Best Rural Tourism Destination” competition, as its Jrai community builds tourism around traditional crafts, food and village life.

Schools and youth organisations are expanding opportunities for young people to learn gong music and xoang dance, with regular practice sessions and new clubs helping pass ethnic traditions from one generation to the next.

Two contestants from Gia Lai, Lê Phương Nghi and Trịnh Ngọc Huyền, have secured places in the Miss Vietnam 2026 finals after being named among the top 25 at the national semi-final in Hai Phong on October 10.

Residents of Bahnar and Jrai villages are using smartphones, social media and photography to bring their culture to wider audiences and attract visitors to community tourism destinations.

Gia Lai province will hold cultural performances, exhibitions and hands-on heritage activities throughout November to mark Vietnam Culture Day 2026, with November 24 as the focal point.

A traditional Jrai ceremony celebrating a new communal house will be recreated on the afternoon of October 31 at the foot of Chư Đang Ya volcano, as a highlight of Gia Lai’s International Gong Festival.

Students at Le Loi High School in Gia Lai province have recreated the cultural spaces of Plei Ơp village using 360-degree virtual reality and artificial intelligence, developing a digital tour intended to make its heritage accessible by smartphone.

Women artisans in Bahnar and Jrai communities are preserving traditional music by making bamboo instruments and teaching young people to play gongs, taking on roles long associated with men.

Bahnar Kon K’Đĕh women in Vietnam’s Gia Lai province are finding new markets for their traditional brocade through tourism and adapting their products to customer demand while preserving weaving skills passed down through generations.

Nearly 100 sixth-grade students in Pleiku Ward, Gia Lai Province, took part in a Mid-Autumn Festival program on September 22 combining books, traditional games and activities designed to promote reading.

Gia Lai province will promote the Vietnamese language and the cultural heritage associated with its development, including the destination described as the “birthplace of the romanized Vietnamese script”, under a new program targeting overseas Vietnamese communities from 2026 to 2030.

Gia Lai Province will hold its first province-wide singing contest in October, seeking to discover promising vocal talent and promote cultural and artistic activities across the province.

The first “Hà Thanh Colors - Radiance on Both Banks” Festival has created a new community space along the Hà Thanh River, bringing residents of Quy Nhơn and Quy Nhơn Đông wards together through cultural, sports and recreational activities.

Gia Lai is embracing the Mid-Autumn Festival with colorful lantern displays, lion dance performances and hands-on craft workshops, giving children and families new ways to enjoy the traditional celebration.

A cultural exhibition in Gia Lai is bringing together heritage, traditional crafts, local specialties and artistic performances from across Vietnam, creating a platform to promote destinations and strengthen links between culture and tourism.

The scientific conference was organized by the Gia Lai Provincial Museum in collaboration with the Southern Institute of Social Sciences.

Traditional theater in Gia Lai is turning to history not simply to recount heroic figures and events, but to connect a younger generation with the past through the distinctive language of hát bội and bài chòi opera.

Lê Kiều Oanh was crowned Miss Vietnam Entrepreneur Talent and Beauty 2026 on September 10, as the seventh edition of the pageant concluded at the Gia Lai Provincial Convention Center.

Three Bryde’s whales spotted hunting off Vũng Bồi in Gia Lai have highlighted the ecological richness of the Đề Gi estuary while underscoring the fishing communities’ longstanding culture of respecting and protecting the sea.

Dương Kim Thiên An, a second-grade student at Nguyen Van Troi Primary School in Gia Lai Province, has won four national art awards in 2026, marking a promising start to her journey in painting.

Traditional culture is being brought closer to children in Gia Lai through hands-on activities that allow them to experience gong music, xoang dances and hát bội art rather than simply learn about them through lessons.

Bitterness is the defining taste of traditional Jrai cuisine in Phu Tuc, where forest leaves, bitter vegetables and distinctive cooking methods have shaped dishes closely tied to the community’s way of life.

Gia Lai is seeking to shift its approach to culture from preservation alone towards sustainable promotion of heritage values, with provincial leaders calling for cultural resources to be transformed into distinctive products that support socio-economic development.

Gia Lai has significant potential to turn its centuries-old connections between the Central Highlands and the sea into a new source of economic growth, with maritime heritage, tourism and cultural industries forming part of an integrated development strategy.