Bai Choi Quang Binh – Discovering Unique Folk Cultural Heritage of Central Vietnam

Bai Choi Quang Binh is a unique folk art form, harmoniously combining folk games, chant calling (hô thai), folk singing, and traditional performance. In each game, participants sit in huts built from bamboo, rattan, and thatched leaves, while ong Hieu (the game master/host) uses chants, rhymes, and imagery-rich, witty folk poetry to call out the names of the playing cards. This charming and witty chanting style creates a unique appeal, turning each card round into a captivating artistic performance.

Unlike some South Central localities where Bai Choi developed toward theatricalization, Bai Choi Quang Binh still retains the rustic character of a community activity game. This activity is often organized during the Lunar New Year (Tet), spring festivals, and traditional cultural events, serving as a gathering spot for people to meet, interact, and share early-year joy.

Not only carrying entertainment value, Bai Choi is also a space to preserve the spoken language, folk tunes, customs, and community solidarity. Through every chant, laughter, and bustling drumbeat, this art form contributes to preserving folk cultural identity, becoming an indispensable part of the spiritual life of Quang Binh residents across generations.

Bai Choi originated around the late 16th – early 17th century, stemming from the working life of Central Vietnam residents. When setting up watchhuts to protect crops from wild animals, locals used drum beats and call-and-response chants to communicate and interact. Gradually, this form combined with card games, giving rise to the unique art of Bai Choi. In Quang Binh, Bai Choi developed strongly in rural villages and became an indispensable cultural activity during Lunar New Year and traditional festivals. Witty chants accompanied by vibrant drum beats have contributed to bonding the community and preserving local identity.

In 2017, The Art of Bai Choi in Central Vietnam was inscribed by UNESCO as a Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. To this day, this art form continues to be preserved and promoted through clubs, festivals, and teaching activities for the younger generation.

Bai Choi Quang Binh possesses its own appeal thanks to the harmonious combination of folk games, performance art, and community bonding spirit.

• Unique performance space: Huts are erected using bamboo and rattan, arranged facing each other, with a central hut for ong Hieu – the master of the game. This rustic setting creates the hallmark of traditional Bai Choi.

• Distinctive card-calling art: Ong Hieu uses folk songs, chants, proverbs, and Binh Tri Thien folk tunes to hint at the names of the cards. The witty, imagery-rich, and flexibly improvised chanting style brings a lively, appealing atmosphere to every round.

• Strong community spirit: Bai Choi is a playground for all ages, regardless of gender or profession. It is an occasion for locals to meet, socialize, strengthen neighborly ties, and enjoy the festive atmosphere together.

• Rich cultural value: This art form is a blend of poetry, music, painting, and folk performance, reflecting the life, voice, and optimistic spirit of Quang Binh people across generations.

To this day, Bai Choi maintains its enduring vitality in local cultural life, becoming a unique experience that helps visitors better understand the identity and traditions of the Quang Binh region.

Bai Choi Quang Binh has fairly simple rules, but requires participants to observe, listen carefully, and react quickly. It is the combination of luck and the art of chanting that creates the unique attraction of this folk game.

• Card deck: The deck consists of about 30–33 cards (depending on the locality), divided into three suits: Van, Van (Ten Thousand), and Sach. Each card is drawn on bamboo or wooden plaques with handles for easy holding.

• Players: Participants sit inside prefabricated huts, usually with 2–4 people per hut. Each person receives a set number of cards to start the round.

• How to play: Ong Hieu opens with suggestive chants or verses, then randomly draws a card and calls out its name using a witty, expressive performance style. When players spot a matching card in their hand, they strike a wooden clapper to signal the assistant to bring a red triangular flag for verification. The hut that receives three red flags first wins and shouts "Toi! Toi! Toi!" (I win!) amidst resounding drums and gongs.

• Vibrant atmosphere: A Bai Choi festival usually spans multiple consecutive rounds, interspersed with string music, drum beats, horn blasts, and improvised chants. The blend of gaming and performance art transforms every match into a distinctive folk cultural space that attracts both locals and tourists.

The Bai Choi festival is not only spiritual food for the people of Quang Binh, but also a bridge bringing local culture closer to travelers. Visitors coming to Dong Hoi, besides exploring nature, can immerse themselves in the festival atmosphere, sit on bamboo huts, listen to the host sing, and feel the heartfelt warmth of Quang region locals.

Like a gentle stream winding through generations, Bai Choi carries the soul of Central Vietnam's land and sky and the simple presence of rustic villagers. It is the ringing, warm calling voice of the host, the carefree, joyous laughter of players, and the abundant warmth under each bamboo hut roof. Amid the increasingly rushed pace of modern life, Bai Choi silently persists—unobtrusive, unpretentious, yet filled with pride. Like a lullaby reminding us of our roots, Bai Choi whispers a message to preserve simple yet priceless cultural values, ensuring the spirit of the countryside never fades in the flow of time.