Carrying the theme “Cultural Colors of the Hmông Ethnic Group - Convergence and Radiance,” the festival is organized by the Điện Biên provincial People’s Committee in coordination with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to honor, preserve, and foster the fine traditional cultural values of the Hmông community. Through this, it contributes to consolidating great national unity and promoting the image, people, culture, and tourism of Điện Biên to domestic and international visitors.

Điện Biên is a land of rich identity, home to 19 coexisting ethnic groups. Among them, the Hmông ethnic group accounts for approximately 38% of the population, the highest share among all ethnic groups across the locality. In numerous highland communes and villages, nearly 100% of the residents are Hmông people. Hmông identity, therefore, forms a vital component shaping the cultural landscape of Điện Biên.

These values are crystallized through the melodies of panpipes and flutes, folk songs, and traditional dances; through ethnic costumes, handicrafts, culinary traditions, and wholesome customs and practices. These represent not only tangible and intangible cultural heritages, but also community memory and the bond connecting generations. Preserving these values means safeguarding ancestral roots, nurturing pride, and consolidating the endogenous strength of ethnic communities.

At the festival, Hmông cultural values are vibrantly showcased through numerous activities. Along Mường Thanh Walking Street in Điện Biên Phủ ward, performances of Hmông panpipe arts, traditional music, traditional crafts, mass arts showcases, and ethnic costume presentations take place. Cultural and culinary experiential spaces, the thematic exhibition “Cultural Characteristics of the Hmông Ethnic Group in the Cultural Community of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups,” alongside exhibition stalls introducing local specialties and OCOP products, help bring heritage closer to the public.

In particular, the opening ceremony, under the theme “Cultural Colors of the Hmông Ethnic Group - Convergence and Radiance,” is broadcast live on the evening of October 9 on VTV8 of the Việt Nam Television, as well as on provincial newspaper, radio, and television outlets. The closing ceremony on the evening of October 11, themed “Hmông Colors Converge - Quintessence Radiates,” will be broadcast live on DTV of the Điện Biên Newspaper and Radio - Television. These artistic programs not only generate a festive atmosphere, but also expand promotional reach for Hmông culture using modern, captivating expressions.

Notably, culture is not presented solely on stage. Within the framework of the festival, Điện Biên province organizes field tours and experiences for participating delegations in Tù Lu - Tìa Ló village, Pú Nhi commune. This settlement is home to 100% Hmông residents and was recently recognized as a Community Tourism Cultural Village. Periodic market spaces, cultural exchanges, folk games, traditional cuisine, and community tourism products allow visitors to experience firsthand the lifestyle, customs, and cultural beauty of the Hmông people.

Over recent years, Điện Biên has dedicated focused attention to preserving ethnic cultures while rolling out multiple socio-economic development and national defense and security programs and projects across ethnic minority regions. As a result, living standards in highland areas have progressively improved. The gap between highlands and lowlands has narrowed, creating an essential foundation for communities to advance economically while safeguarding and promoting cultural identity.

Honoring Hmông culture is therefore not mere nostalgia for the past. It serves to affirm contemporary value and open forward-looking developmental avenues. Thus, favorable conditions must continue to be created for artisans to transmit craftsmanship, language, folk songs, folk dances, and panpipe arts to younger generations. Cultural elements must be integrated into education, tourism, and community activities, while strictly avoiding commercialization and the distortion of authentic original values.

The 4th Hmông Ethnic Cultural Festival in 2026 offers an opportunity for Hmông colors to converge, interact, and spread. Through this, each cultural value handed down becomes a spiritual pillar, and each cultural product becomes a development resource. Preserving identity does not mean isolating oneself from the modern current, but integrating with resilience, confidence, and pride in one’s ancestral origins.

On the historically rich soil of Điện Biên, the cultural colors of the Hmông people continue to be safeguarded, promoted, and made to shine, serving as an endogenous strength that helps build a prosperous, culturally rich, united, and sustainable homeland.