TL;DR: Dân ca quan họ Bắc Ninh is a form of alternating male and female folk song from the old Kinh Bắc region, performed by liền anh and liền chị according to its own conventions such as kết chạ, canh hát and alternating song. In September 2009, UNESCO inscribed Dân ca quan họ Bắc Ninh on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This is a community heritage, not a professional stage form, so its value lies in the way people practise and pass it on.
What is Bac Ninh Quan Ho folk singing?
Bac Ninh Quan Ho folk singing is a call-and-response folk genre between men and women of the northern delta, which flourished in the old Kinh Bac region, in the two provinces of Bac Ninh and Bac Giang before July 2025, now both within Bac Ninh province[4]. The performers are not professional stage artists but farmers and craftspeople who live by farming and side trades, singing together on village festival days, during festival seasons and at exchanges between kết chạ villages. In September 2009, UNESCO inscribed Bac Ninh Quan Ho folk singing on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity[1].
Who are liền anh and liền chị?
Liền anh are the men and liền chị are the women who sing quan họ according to traditional conventions. The names "liền anh" and "liền chị" are tied to their roles in a canh hát: each side sings in response to the other, rather than one side performing for the other to listen. As UNESCO describes it, the songs are performed as alternating verses between two women from one village who sing in harmony and two men from another village who respond with similar melodies but different lyrics[4].
Liền anh and liền chị are not professional artists. They are villagers. Singing quan họ is part of community life, not a livelihood. That is why quan họ is marked by a strong community character, with no gap between performers and audience as on a modern stage.
The number of people taking part in quan họ in the community is fairly large. According to the Chairman of the Bac Ninh Provincial People's Committee at the anniversary ceremony in February 2019, from only 49 original quan họ villages and 34 clubs, ten years after UNESCO inscription (2009-2019) the province developed 369 practising quan họ villages and 381 clubs with more than ten thousand members, and thousands of people able to transmit the art[2]. These figures show that quan họ does not exist only in memory but is still practised at community scale.
What is the kết chạ custom in quan họ?
Kết chạ is the custom of forming brotherhood ties between villages. UNESCO writes that many villages in this region are twinned and reinforce that relationship through social customs such as quan họ singing; custom forbids marrying a singing partner[4].
The kết chạ custom is not found only in quan họ. In the northern delta, kết chạ is a common custom between villages, formed from the need to bind communities together in the work of land clearing, water control and protection of life against natural disasters and war[3]. One recorded case is the kết chạ tie between Van Phuc village (now in Nam Phu commune, Hanoi) and Nga My village (now in Thanh Oai commune, Hanoi), two villages about 30 km apart; according to the village genealogy of the deity and the villagers' accounts, the tie dates from the time of King Lý Thái Tổ[3]. This example shows that kết chạ is a custom with a long history, not unique to quan họ.
How does a canh hát quan họ take place?
A canh hát is a quan họ singing session according to traditional conventions. UNESCO describes quan họ as sung at rituals, festivals, competitions and informal gatherings, where guests perform a variety of verses for their hosts before singing farewell[4]. Nhân Dân newspaper mentions the familiar quan họ songs offering betel and water[1].
As for dress, UNESCO records that the women wear distinctive large round hats and scarves, and the men wear turbans and tunics and carry umbrellas[4]. Nhân Dân newspaper treats the quai thao hat with its pink silk ribbon as an emblem of the quan họ region[1].
UNESCO records more than 400 song lyrics sung with 213 melody variations, expressing longing and sadness upon separation and the happiness of meeting, and four singing techniques: restrained, resonant, ringing and staccato[4].
Why did UNESCO inscribe Bac Ninh Quan Ho folk singing?
UNESCO inscribed Bac Ninh Quan Ho folk singing on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in September 2009[1]. The inscription decision states that the songs are performed on occasions such as the worship of protection gods, fertility rituals and village festivals, and are recognised and transmitted by their communities as a symbol of local and regional identity[5].
After the inscription, Bac Ninh province carried out many preservation measures: honouring and paying tribute to "Living Human Treasures", conferring the title of artisan on 71 people and Meritorious Artisan on 5, supporting artisans monthly and funding quan họ villages and clubs; expanding forms of transmission in the community and bringing quan họ into the official school curriculum; and building quan họ performance spaces[2]. These are commitments to UNESCO carried out after the inscription.
However, preserving quan họ faces difficulties. The ranks of old quan họ artisans are ageing, while the next generation of artisans is not yet numerous; individuals and organisations devoted to the cultural cause are not always supported and honoured in time[2]. These challenges have been raised at inscription anniversaries, showing that heritage preservation is not a one-time task.
Quan họ in figures
Official sources give the following figures on quan họ:
| Item | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Lyrics and melodies | More than 400 song lyrics, 213 melody variations | UNESCO |
| Original quan họ villages | 49 villages | VietnamPlus, 2019 |
| Practising quan họ villages in 2019 | 369 villages | VietnamPlus, 2019 |
| Quan họ clubs in 2019 | 381 clubs, more than ten thousand members | VietnamPlus, 2019 |
| Artisans honoured by 2019 | 71 artisans, 5 Meritorious Artisans | VietnamPlus, 2019 |
| Old quan họ songs transcribed | 107 songs | VietnamPlus, 2019 |
The figures for lyrics and melodies come from the UNESCO heritage page[4]; the provincial figures were announced at the tenth-anniversary ceremony in February 2019[2].
Quan họ in contemporary life
Fifteen years after the inscription, quan họ has appeared in many different spaces, from tea tables and conference stages to gatherings of friends and family[1]. This is a change from the traditional canh hát space, which was tied to private houses and village communal houses. The expansion of performance space has the positive side of helping quan họ reach more people, but it also raises the question of keeping traditional conventions.
Some new performance forms have been organised periodically, such as quan họ singing on boats combined with pedestrian streets in the 2015-2020 period[1]. These forms attract visitors and create space for quan họ, but they do not replace the traditional canh hát. Distinguishing between performances for tourism and heritage practice in the community is necessary when assessing the vitality of quan họ.
Quan họ clubs have also been set up in many localities in the country, connecting those who love quan họ[1]. This is a new form of organisation, helping quan họ exist not only in Bac Ninh but also spread to other provinces and cities.
Points to note when learning about quan họ
First, quan họ is not the only folk genre of Vietnam. Vietnam has several folk genres inscribed by UNESCO, and each has its own features[1]. Comparing quan họ with other forms should be based on specific criteria, not general judgments.
Second, the origin and date of formation of quan họ have no consistent documentation. Some documents mention a tradition of quan họ singing dating back more than 300 years[1], but this figure should be understood as conventional, not an exact date. Determining the date of quan họ's formation is an academic question still open.
Third, quan họ is the heritage of the community, not of any single organisation or individual. Preserving quan họ requires community participation, not only the efforts of authorities or researchers. This view is emphasised at inscription anniversaries[2].
In closing
Bac Ninh Quan Ho folk singing is a call-and-response folk genre between men and women, tied to the community of the Kinh Bac region. Its value lies in the manner of practice, in how liền anh and liền chị sing together through kết chạ and canh hát, not only in the tunes. The UNESCO inscription in 2009 recognises the value of the heritage and also places a preservation responsibility on the community and authorities at all levels. Understanding quan họ correctly helps avoid common misunderstandings, such as identifying it with a professional stage form, or treating it as a heritage "frozen" in the past.
