Vietnam National Academy of Music has cooperated with 11 northern provinces to complete a dossier of Hat Then (Then singing) for seeking UNESCO’s recognition of the musical genre as a piece of intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Then singing is a folk musical genre of the spiritual and cultural life of the Tay and Nung ethnic groups in Vietnam.
The two ethic minority groups often live in villages in highland mountainous provinces in northern Vietnam such as Cao Bang, Lang Son, Thai Nguyen, Bac Can, Tuyen Quang, Ha Giang, Lai Chau, Lao Cai.
An international conference on Then singing will be held in July to promote this traditional art.