Truong Tien Bridge, one of Hue’s icons, was stunningly lit up with some 4,000 candles in a spectacular fire installation performance by a foreign troupe last night, Apr 18, to the delight of some thousand domestic and international tourists.

At 7:30pm last night, on the background of the song “La Narche”, artists from France's “Carabosse” fire installation art troupe, began to lit up almost 4,000 candles on the bridge, turning it into a huge fire strip.

With the flickering fire, the bridge cast its shadows over the city’s iconic Huong river.

Locals and tourists alike flocked to the streets near the bridge, trying to get the best view of the ‘fiery’ bridge.

They could also stroll beneath the fire and look up to admire French artist Sébastien Laval’s 62 photos featuring Vietnam’s ethnic minority communities.

The photos, hung over the bridge, required that spectators look up, which is indicative of a change in people’s attitudes towards ethnic people from oblivion to recognition and respect.

“Carabosse” troupe first joined the Hue Festival in 2012, when they lit up the Royal Citadel.

The performance will be held once more at 7.30pm tomorrow, Apr 20, and will provide a spectacular background to the festival’s closing ceremony, to take place at 8.30pm at Gia Hoi Bridge park the same evening.

Elaborate, lifelike stage

The 2014 Hue Festival has been enthusiastically applauded not only for its diverse, gorgeous performances by artists from 37 countries, but also  for its elaborate main stage.

Many foreign artists are also amazed at the grandeur and uniqueness of the stage.

Han Myung Ok, art director of the Korea National Music Institute, said that most stages in many countries on which her troupe has performed are built in 2D.

“My troupe was quite surprised at the stage, which is designed as an imposing palace. Though we had to rearrange our dance configuration to fit it, our dancers were all delighted and found that the stage is more suitable for our traditional dances,” she commented.

Unlike in previous years in which the stage was built by professional companies from Ho Chi Minh City, this year’s stage was put up by a group of skilled Hue workers.

Nearly 80 skilled workers in carving, carpentry and ironwork were selected for the project.

They built an iron frame capable of sustaining high pressure before wrapping it with 500 sheets of decaled plywood.

According to Phan Van Thang, a famed local builder, the most challenging task was attaching the plywood sheets to the iron frame, which measures 40m, 26m and 21m in length, width and height, in the windy square.

All the decorative patterns on the plywood sheets which simulate the time-honored Hue royal architecture were carved with high precision and craftsmanship.

It took 27 days and nights to finish the stage, with 15 ones spent on fixing the patterns alone.

Inspired by the entrance to Truong Sanh palace in the Hue Royal Citadel, celebrated fashion designer Minh Hanh, the stage designer, explained that the elaborately carved patterns are created to reflect as much light as possible and turn the stage into a huge glittery lantern.

She immediately thought of Hue artisans and workers, who then successfully turned her unique design into reality.