The Hue Festival 2008 in central Thua Thien-Hue province by June 7 had welcomed close to 56,000 visitors, including 13,200 foreigners.

As the festival will continue until June 11, the organisers expect that the total number of visitors to the event will be much higher than the 2006 festival attendance of 61,000.

Visitors to Hue this time were entertained by international music and art programmes every night and large-scale performances featuring Hue special cultural characteristics and historic events, such as the legend of Huong river, and the enthronement of King Quang Trung at Ban Mountain.

The closing day of the festival is expected to see the announcement of nine Vietnamese Guinness records.

The records include a set of nine biggest bronze urns cast in 1837, nine largest bronze cannons made in the Gia Long Dynasty (1802-1820), the biggest and heaviest stone stele in King Tu Duc’s Tomb and the largest imperial boat.

Four other records are works made by Hue master artists for the Hue Festival, including 3,254 verses from the famous Kieu’s Story carved on 1,627 white cobblestones, a 15m-long picture made from cajeput bark and butterfly wings, and a 600sq.m stage depicting a Vietnamese village.

The “legend of Huong River ” programme which took place on a 6km river section from Bang Lang T-junction to Nghinh Luong Dinh yard is also expected to claim the “largest artistic programme on river” title. (VNA)