Cai Rang floating market culture festival 2019 opens in Can Tho city

Cai Rang floating market culture festival 2019 opens in Can Tho city

The fourth Cai Rang Floating Market Culture and Tourism Festival will take place in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho from July 7 to 9.

This year’s festival aims to respond to Vietnam Tourism Day (July 9) and honour and promote the images and culture of Cai Rang floating market – a national intangible cultural heritage.

A number of activities will be held during the three-day festival, including a book exhibition, a photo exhibition, a seminar, a composite boat race, a parade of tourism boats, and the making of record-sized banh xeo (a type of savory crepe) – a specialty of southern Vietnam.

The festival will also feature a display of local delicacies, cultural activities and folk games.

The Cai Rang Floating Market, located about 6km from the centre of Can Tho city, has been around for centuries. It is a prime example of the waterway market culture in the southwestern region, where people buy and sell goods on boats.

About 200 – 250 waterway vehicles engage in buying and selling activities at the market every day with agricultural products being main goods. About 2,000 tonnes of products are sold and bought at the market each day, generating over 3 billion VND (132,000 USD) in daily revenue.

It becomes an attractive destination for tourists, helping the locality to promote tourism development.

The municipal authority has made efforts to preserve and develop the heritage, focusing on raising public awareness of the importance of the market for tourism development, enhancing tourism links in the region, towards attracting more and more holiday-makers to the city.