After five years, the festival has become a well known culture-tourism event of the city and made contributions to the conservation and development traditional cultural values of the nation. The event also draws the participation of 26 leading ao dai designers across the nation. It is expected to promote tourism of Vietnam in general and HCM City in particular to international friends. The opening ceremony on March 2 featured 15 collections of Vietnamese leading ao dai designers, along with a collection by a designer from the Republic of Korea, introducing Vietnam’s ao dai from the perspective of international friends. About 15 activities and programmes will be arranged during the Ao Dai Festival, which runs through March 17.