Đồng Nai, in southern Việt Nam, is leaning hard on digital tools to sell itself as a cultural destination. The city's Culture, Sports and Tourism Department has rolled out virtual reality tours and QR codes at key relic sites so visitors can pull up detailed information on their phones instead of squinting at faded plaques.
The tech treatment has landed on some genuinely interesting spots. The Nguyễn Hữu Cảnh Tomb and Temple in Trấn Biên Ward honours the 17th-century marquis credited with establishing Vietnamese sovereignty over the south. The An Hòa Communal House hosts the Kỳ Yên Festival, an annual act of gratitude to ancestors, while the Hàng Gòn Megalithic Tomb speaks to a far older layer of history. There's also a push to meet younger audiences where they are: rituals and heritage content are being livestreamed and shared on Facebook, YouTube and TikTok.
What makes Đồng Nai worth a detour is the sheer density of living tradition. Since merging with neighbouring Bình Phước, the province counts roughly 400 festivals and rituals a year, mostly tied to monuments, communal houses, pagodas and shrines. Six hold national intangible heritage status: the Khmer Dua tpeng (Phá bàu) Festival in Lộc Hưng Commune, the Bà Rá Temple Festival, the Cầu Bông harvest-praying festival, the Ông Pagoda Festival, the death anniversary of Marquis Nguyễn Hữu Cảnh, and the Chơro ethnic minority's Sayangva Rice God Worship Festival. Tày, Dao, Khmer and Hoa communities add their own celebrations, and traditional boat races on the Đồng Nai River round out the calendar.
The city isn't stopping at screens. Vice chairman of the municipal People's Committee Lê Trường Sơn says the plan combines digital transformation with regional linkages, media promotion and tourism products built around sport. Đồng Nai will team up with provinces in the Southeast and Southwest regions to create interprovincial routes, show up at the big tourism fairs in Hà Nội and Hồ Chí Minh City, and host familiarisation trips for travel businesses and media in the hope of tempting agencies to build quality packages at sharp prices.
Sport is the other hook. Officials want races and tournaments staged at spots travellers actually want to visit — the Đồng Nai Nature and Culture Reserve, Cát Tiên National Park and Bà Rá Mountain — and the city is ready to host national-level events including the U23 Volleyball Championship, Youth Sepak Takraw Championship and National Youth Muay Thai Championship.
For travellers, this matters because Đồng Nai has long been a pass-through on the way to the Central Highlands or the coast. The digitised relic sites make a city stop easier to navigate without a guide, and the festival calendar offers something most of Việt Nam's better-known cities can't: intimate, community-run rituals rather than staged shows. Pair a festival visit with time in Cát Tiên National Park and you've got a genuinely offbeat southern itinerary — with a QR code to explain what you're looking at.
