Lantern ceremony lights up Pleiku night street, drawing crowds for prayers of peace

From March 29 to April 1, the coastal village of Nhơn Hải in Quy Nhơn Đông Ward, Gia Lai Province, comes alive with the annual Whale Worship Festival, its largest cultural event of the year.

Residents of Bek Village in Ia Grai commune, Gia Lai province gathered on March 30 to celebrate the revival of their traditional Victory Festival, marking its return after a 20-year absence due to economic hardship.

A star-studded Mega Concert launched the opening night of National Tourism Year - Gia Lai 2026, drawing tens of thousands of spectators to Nguyen Tat Thanh Square for an evening of high-energy performances and emotional resonance.

The opening ceremony of National Tourism Year - Gia Lai 2026 drew tens of thousands of visitors to a large-scale artistic spectacle that blended culture, history and technology to showcase Vietnam’s tourism potential.

A traditional royal decree procession highlighted the annual Quý Xuân offering ceremony held on March 28 at An Khê ancestral temple in Gia Lai Province, as local residents gathered to pray for peace, prosperity and favorable weather.

With less than 48 hours remaining, Gia Lai province has completed final preparations for the opening ceremony of National Tourism Year 2026, a large-scale artistic event expected to attract around 50,000 spectators at Nguyen Tat Thanh Square in Quy Nhon Ward.

Authorities in Gia Lai province have finalized extensive preparations for the opening ceremony of National Tourism Year - Gia Lai 2026, scheduled for March 28, as the locality gears up for a major influx of visitors.

Authorities in Gia Lai province are completing final preparations for the opening ceremony of National Tourism Year 2026, with officials emphasizing safety, logistics and coordination ahead of the nationally televised event.

Gia Lai will launch National Tourism Year 2026 with a large-scale opening ceremony and mega concert on March 28, combining traditional cultural elements with modern performance technology in one of the country’s most ambitious tourism events.

Gia Lai province has unveiled a new initiative to strengthen reading culture and lifelong learning, as its Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Education and Training agreed to implement a joint library cooperation program for 2026–2030.

A village in Vietnam’s Central Highlands marked the inauguration of a new communal Rong house on March 22, combining traditional rituals with efforts to boost community-based tourism.

Festivals held during the first and second lunar months across eastern communes and wards are drawing large numbers of visitors, as communities celebrate the new year while showcasing traditional cultural heritage during the National Tourism Year 2026.

An amateur photographer from the United Kingdom has won the top prize at the 2026 Photographer of the Year competition with a striking image captured in Vietnam, organisers announced.

Gia Lai province will pilot a new tourism model, the “Gia Lai Coffee & Culture Weekend Market”, from March to August 2026 in Pleiku Ward, as part of efforts to diversify tourism offerings and attract visitors during the National Tourism Year - Gia Lai 2026.

The “Vietnam-France Encounter 2026” exhibition opened at the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts on Tuesday, bringing together dozens of artists from both countries in a cross-cultural showcase of contemporary art.

The National Tourism Year - Gia Lai 2026 will officially open on March 28 with a large-scale live art performance, a mega concert featuring leading young artists, and a fireworks display, organisers said.

Gia Lai’s signature dried phở (Vietnamese noodle soup) and traditional dishes from the Jrai and Bahnar ethnic communities will take the spotlight at the Gia Lai Culinary Festival, part of the opening week of National Tourism Year 2026, bringing the culinary heritage of Central Highlands to visitors.

The steady rhythm of handlooms continues to echo through villages in Vietnam’s Central Highlands, where Jrai and Bana women are preserving centuries-old brocade weaving traditions while adapting them to modern tourism and markets.

Phú Thiện commune in Gia Lai is home to four Meritorious Artisans from ethnic minority groups, all of whom have devoted their lives to safeguarding forms of intangible cultural heritage, rituals, music, weaving and traditional crafts, that still shape daily life in the Central Highlands.

An art program celebrating the 24th Vietnam Poetry Day opened on 2 March at the Twin Towers Relic Site in Quy Nhon Ward, drawing provincial leaders, artists and a large audience.

A charity concert in Gia Lai Province raised more than 300 million VND (approximately 12,000 USD) on March 1, generating funds for community development, education support, and disaster relief efforts in the region and other localities.

Residents of the coastal community of Nhơn Hải opened their annual Thanh Minh Festival on 27 February with a series of ancestral rites at the Phương Mai communal house, maintaining traditions passed down through generations.

Gia Lai province opened its annual Khai Sơn Cầu Ngư (Mountain opening and whale worship) Festival on February 25, bringing thousands of residents and visitors to the Lăng Ông Nam Hải - Vạn Đầm Xương Lý in the Lý Chánh quarter of Quy Nhơn Đông ward.

The People’s Committee of Gia Lai has issued Plan No. 78/KH-UBND outlining a series of initiatives for 2026 to preserve and promote the value of the Central Highlands Gong Cultural Space heritage.