HCM City (VNA) – More than 200 ao dai (traditional long dress) tailor andaccessory shops in Ho Chi Minh City will offer 10-50 percent discount toclients throughout March in response to the fifth Ao Dai festival scheduled forMarch 3-25.

Arepresentative from the organising board said the event is expected toencourage local residents and tourists to wear ao dai, thereby helping maintaintraditional culture. 

With the theme“Ho Chi Minh City Charming Ao Dai” and the message “I love Vietnamese ao dai”,the festival will be co-organised by the municipal Tourism Department and the Women’sUnion.

Aiming toattract 80,000 visitors, it features 16 main activities, including an openingceremony, which will stage 13 collections on the Nguyen Hue pedestrian streeton March 3, and a mass performance of 3,000 people wearing ao dai on March 4.

As part ofthe festival, a forum on the charm of ao dai is scheduled for March 8 to helpinternational friends understand the culture and history behind the dress.

Talk showsinspiring youths on the dress will take place at several schools in the city.

Spaces forlocal tourism promotion on Nguyen Hue street, an ao dai exhibition and a conferenceon the history of ao dai are among other highlights of the event.-VNA