Traditional culture, sports take centre stage at Mong New Year Festival in Chieng Sai

As part of the first Mong Traditional Lunar New Year Festival 2026, held by the Chieng Sai commune People’s Committee on January 15, a range of cultural activities and sports competitions took place, drawing large crowds of local residents and visitors.

The organising committee evaluates the cultural camps at the festival. 

The cultural camp of Nhem hamlet in Chieng Sai commune.

The event featured a cultural camp competition alongside displays of locally produced agricultural products. Ten cultural camps representing hamlets across the commune took part. Crafted and decorated with natural materials, the camps recreated traditional living spaces and reflected the distinctive cultural identity of ethnic communities in Chieng Sai.

A resident of Suoi Trang decorates the hamlet’s camp.

The camps also showcased and introduced traditional costumes, cuisine and ethnic musical instruments, along with agricultural products, handicrafts and traditional tools for daily life and production. The displays drew large numbers of local residents and visitors, who took part in brocade weaving experiences, posed for photos and purchased local specialties.

A local resident experiences brocade weaving at a cultural camp.

Local agricultural products on display at a cultural camp.

The festival also featured competitions in traditional sports, including crossbow shooting, tu lu spinning, stick pushing, tug of war, round glutinous rice cake pounding and embroidery contests. More than 200 athletes from 10 hamlets across the commune took part. Teams and athletes competed in a spirit of exchange, learning and solidarity, creating a lively atmosphere throughout the event.

Women compete in the crossbow shooting event at the festival.
A tug-of-war competition at the festival.
A round glutinous rice cake pounding competition at the festival.
A traditional embroidery competition.

At the close of the competitions, the organising committee awarded 12 first, 15 second, 20 third and 22 consolation prizes to winners across the events.

The organising committee presents first prizes in the competition events.

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