To welcome the New Year, the Saigon Zoo will organise a festival featuring the Central Highlands’ special identity from January 26 to February 1.

A nha rong (house on stilts) built in the zoo.

Saigon Zoo is the largest zoo in HCM City. It has 590 animals of 125 species, 1,800 trees of 260 species, 23 domestic orchid species, 33 varieties of cacti, 34 species of bonsai and many more. Last year, the zoo imported some new animals from Africa, for example giraffes, zebra, rhino, etc.

This lunar New Year, the zoo will offer a special festival featuring the unique culture of ethnic groups in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Accordingly, visitors can come to witness the M’Pu festival (wishing for good health), Po Thi festival of Gia Rai ethnic minority group, the Buffalo Slaughtering ritual to celebrate victory and the New Rice celebration of the Ba Na group.

The zoo has invited 40 ethnic minority artisans to sing and play gongs at the festival. Around 200 items of ethnic minority people in the Central Highlands will be on display.

The event is co-organised by the Saigon Zoo and the HCM City Ethnology Association and will be the first of its kind in the city.

The zoo will also introduce dragon-unicorn dances, performed by the Phuoc Hung Dien troupe, besides music and circus shows.

On this occasion, the first baby giraffe born at the zoo will appear to the public.

(Source: Dan Tri)