*When/Where it started: Originated from Bac Ninh province in about

century 13th and it is usually sung at spring festivals.

*Instrument: the bamboo flute, the mono chord and the 36-stringed
dulcimer.
*3 Types: Quan Ho has many forms: worship singing, festival singing,
and soup singing.
+Singing Quan ho at communal house or temple gates is called worship
singing.
+ Singing festival is a cultural activity with Quan Ho songs in village
festivals, with many Quan Ho men and women coming to the festival
and participating in the singing. Singing festivals usually last from the
beginning of January until the end of the second lunar month in all
festivals in the region.
+ Quan ho singing soup is usually held in the spring or fall, the season of
pagoda festivals and village communal house festivals, between male
and female quan hos in different villages. They invited each other to
come to their house to sing a song to bless each other and bring joy to
the village and neighbors, making their friendship closer to each other
people.
->Traditionally it was the young that sang Quan Ho because it involved
stories of love and sentimentality.
*Artists/performers: quan ho is a unique cultural and artistic value of
the Kinh Bac people. In the past, Kinh Bac people sang quan ho as an
artistic hobby, with the form of singing and responding in pairs of boys
and girls performing in unison.
*Costumes:
-Female:wear the colorful multi-layered dress, nón quai thao is
weaved from dried palm leaves, with its strap made of silk, much like
the conical hat; often, the dress of female only buttons at the side.
-Male: the long dresses, black umbrella make up the core of a typical
costume, a standing collar.
*Features;
-It is characterized by symmetry, with alternating groups of female and
male singers(liền anh, liền chị) singing the lyrics
-Performed by 2 groups of singers,together creating singer couples.
Each couples will sing responses to each other, creating a special
musical balance and coordination.
-Some couples of them were believed to be born for singing Quan ho
with each other ever after.
-Songs often have content about love, confession and happy in daily
life. The lyrics are often sweet and delicate.
-Over the years, a great deal has changed in Quan Ho singing though
the Bac Ninh believes it continues to be a vehicle for self-awareness
and expression.-> the younger generation need to develop quan ho.
-Recognized by UNESCO as an cultural intangible heritage of humanity
in 2009.