Vietnam Animated by Spring Festivals
A series of Vietnam’s famous traditional festivals have been kicked off as usual after the Tet holidays (falling in January of the Lunar Calendar) for tourists and pilgrims nationwide, local media reported.
A carnival spirit gripped northern Phu Tho province, where the Hung King’s Temple festival got underway on February 22 (the sixth day of the Lunar New Year) with many traditional activities like boat races, a palanquin procession and lion dances.
The annual festival is an opportunity for the Vietnamese people to commemorate the dynasty of the Hung Kings, considered the founding fathers of Vietnam
The government invested tens of millions of dong in restoring the historic site and decided to enlarge the temple premises by 1,000 ha to the south.
Notably, the Hung King’s anniversary (on March 10 of Lunar Calendar) has been recently designated a national holiday on which laborers nationwide will have the day off.
On the same day, thousands of tourists and pilgrims flock to My Duc district of Ha Tay province to join the opening ceremony of the Huong (Perfume) Pagoda Festival, one of biggest traditional Vietnamese Buddhist festivals, lasting around three months through the spring.
This year, Huong Son Tourism Joint Stock Company has inaugurated a controlling center and, for the first time, provided tourists and pilgrims with tourist guides who have been professionally trained.
The service is in effort to limit traffic jams and social evils which occurred in previous festival seasons.
Vietnamese people and foreign visitors are also interested in other festivals such as the Yen Tu festival in Quang Ninh province, the Lim festival in Bac Ninh, and the Vieng market festival in Nam Dinh. (VNA)
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