HOI AN — Bai choi, 1,000-year-old folk music that is performed like a card game, is seeing a revival in the central ancient town of Hoi An.
It had disappeared for a while and in its new avatar is attracting foreign tourists and researchers.
One Swiss tourist lingered in Hoi An for a month though she had intended to stay for just two weeks.
At first she did not understand anything about bai choi but found it pleasing on the ear and eye.
She went on to register at a free bai choi class at the Hoi An Cultural Centre.
Soon, several foreign visitors too signed up for the class, mostly from Japan, Switzerland, Germany, Australia and France.
Luong Dang, 54, a bai choi singer who was bestowed the title of "Meritorious Artist" two years ago – the only one in Quang Nam Province to be thus honoured – says he taught a Japanese tourist to sing bai choi in 2005.
She promptly fell in love with the art despite not getting the hang of bai choi acting and how to use words. But what she lacked by way of understanding, she made up with diligence, not missing a single class.
Dang says it took her three visits to Hoi An to understand the profound meaning of each verse.