Thousands of people gravitated to Ha Tinh Province, north-central Vietnam on Saturday to admire a hot-air balloon performance as part of the activities marking the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

The performance, entitled 'A Walk of the Saola - The Asian Unicorn,' took place in Vu Quang Town, Vu Quang District on Saturday morning.

As this was the first time such an event had been held in the locality, thousands of local residents and tourists arrived at the location early in the morning to secure a good spot to watch the show.

The performance included two large hot-air balloons and eight medium ones, all of which were flying at a maximum height of 50 meters.

Nguyen Thi Thao, a resident of Vu Quang District, said she was happy and thankful that the organizing board had chosen the locale to put on the show.

“This is a good opportunity to promote local tourism,” Thao added.

Ha Tinh is proud to host the first event in a series of activities to welcome the 31st SEA Games, said chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Le Ngoc Chau.

The event was also meant to spread the message of wildlife protection and promote the natural beauty of Ha Tinh’s Vu Quang National Park, chairman Chau continued.

Ha Tinh Province is the hometown of the saola – the mascot of the 31st SEA Games.

The saola was first discovered in Vietnam in May 1992 during a trip to Vu Quang National Park conducted by Vietnam’s old Ministry of Forestry and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

The 31st SEA Games will take place in Hanoi and 11 neighboring provinces and cities from May 12 to 23.

The tournament will be attended by 11 delegations from Southeast Asian nations and consist of 526 categories in 40 sports.

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