A four-day International Tourism Festival will take place at Bao Son Paradise Park, Ha Noi, from Saturday to mark the city’s millennium anniversary.

It will feature a wide range of cultural and culinary activities among 400 booths, of them 35 for tourism outlets in five continents. More than 180 booths are for tourism businesses in Ha Noi; 91 booths for tourism enterprises in other provinces, plus the departments of culture, sports and tourism; the other booths will be for sponsors and tourism service providers.

Also to be featured are art performances, folk games and street activities, including Thai ethnic singing, water puppets, ceremonial singing, operetta, central region folk songs, Chinese chess and cooking competitions.

The festival will reproduce the daily activities of Hanoians in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including royal doctoral exams and calligraphy performances. Artisans will show their skills through different stages of handicraft production.

Traditional and modern cultures of Viet Nam, through the reform, development and integration will be expressed and pictures of Ha Noi and other regions, locations, famous places, food and culture will be on display.

The event is organised by the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism, Ha Noi’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Bao Son Group.

Ha Noi’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism deputy director Mai Tien Dung said, "Because of the language barrier, we will select suitable art performances for foreign visitors. The performances will be presented mostly through sounds, actions and images."

The festival is tipped as the most important event of the 2010 National Tourism Year and is expected to draw around 30,000 visitors a day.

There will be artist street parades every morning and evening and a seminar on promoting cultural heritage and traditional craft villages to develop tourism.