Da Nang hotels slash prices, Hoi An hosts pottery festival for National Day holiday

Discounts, free entry in Da Nang

The Da Nang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that many hotels and villas in the city will cut room rates by 50 percent during the holiday.

In downtown areas, museums offering free entry include Da Nang Museum, Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture, Danang Fine Arts Museum, Sa Huynh Culture Museum, Hoi An Museum, Museum of Trade Ceramics, Museum of Folk Culture, Museum of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine, and Museum of Local Products.

Other museums and attractions will apply a 40-percent discount, such as Dong Dinh Museum and the Non Nuoc Stone Carving Memory Museum.

Residents with household registration in the central and Central Highlands regions will receive special offers at destinations including Sun World Ba Na Hills, VinWonders Nam Hoi An, Hoi An Memories Land, and Mikazuki Resort & Spa.

Sun World Ba Na Hills launched an ‘Enjoy Ba Na’ package, including a two-night stay at three- to five-star hotels and cable car tickets, priced from VND990,000 (US$38) to VND1.7 million ($65) per guest.

From August 30 through September, domestic visitors will also receive a 40-percent discount on cable car tickets and up to 30-percent off combo packages including lunch buffet.

Hoi An celebrates pottery heritage

Hoi An, now under the jurisdiction of Da Nang, will stage a range of cultural and artistic events.

Thanh Ha Pottery Village, one of Vietnam’s oldest ceramic communities with a history spanning more than 500 years, will host its annual Ancestors Commemoration Festival from August 31 to September 1 at Hoi An Tay Ward.

The festival honors the village’s founding potters, educates younger generations about their heritage, and reinforces the preservation of this traditional craft.

According to Bui Van Dung, chairman of the Hoi An Tay Ward administration, at 8:00 am on September 1, local authorities will reopen Thanh Ha Pottery Village’s inland waterway pier, enabling tourist boats to bring visitors directly to the site — a long-anticipated move aimed at boosting pottery tourism and community incomes.

Elsewhere, cultural programs include a music exchange at 7:00 pm on September 1 at Kazik Park; a street art show at 6:30 pm on September 2 near Cau Pagoda, which is a bridge more than 400 years old in Hoi An Ancient Town.

From August 30 to September 2, visitors can enjoy ethnic musical performances, experience weather doll-making and Japanese mask-painting at 6 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street.

Weather concerns loom

While visitor numbers are expected to surge, heavy rains over the past two days due to a tropical depression in the East Vietnam Sea have already forced the cancellation of outdoor events such as Kim Bong Village Fair in Hoi An.

Hotel operators expressed concern that persistent wet weather could dampen the holiday season despite strong early bookings.

On Saturday morning, the tropical depression intensified into storm Nongfa, the sixth to hit the East Vietnam Sea this year.

At 4:00 pm the same day, Nongfa weakened into a tropical depression and made landfall in central provinces from Quang Tri to Ha Tinh, according to the national weather agency.