Cultural tourism week to explore Hanoi's heritage

The cultural tourism week with the theme "Heritage Journey from Sai Temple to Co Loa Relic" has been launched at the Sai Temple National Historic Site, Thuy Lam Commune, Dong Anh District, Hanoi.

The main activities will take place from February 9 to February 21. While visiting the monuments and relics and joining the festival activities, people will have the opportunity to enjoy traditional dishes, typical agricultural products, and the typical traditional culture of Thuy Lam Commune, according to Dinh Van Thu, Chairman of Thuy Lam Commune People's Committee.

Hanoi's leaders offer incense at the Co Loa relic. Photo: Doan Thanh/The Hanoi Times

Thu said the cultural tourism week is a connection of typical heritage sites in the district, bringing visitors a new experience of the cultural heritage of Dong Anh District, including the sacred Sai Temple and the former capital of Co Loa. On the heritage journey, visitors will explore other unique and typical tangible and intangible heritage such as Thuy Loi Communal House, Sai Temple and its King's Procession Festival, the rice cooking competition in Luong Quy Village and  the water puppet performance in Dao Thuc Village.

Nguyen Thi Tam, Vice Chairwoman of the Dong Anh District People's Committee, speaks at the opening ceremony of the Cultural Tourism Week. Photo: Doan Thanh/The Hanoi Times

Speaking at the opening ceremony on February 3, Nguyen Thi Tam, Vice Chairwoman of Dong Anh District People's Committee, said that Sai Mountain and Sai Temple are marked with traces of fierce battles and heroic victories of the famous General Ly Thuong Kiet, the talented general who led the Dai Viet army and people to defeat the Chinese Song invaders at the Cau River front line in the 11th century.

In 1010, King Ly Cong Uan moved the capital from Hoa Lu (northern province of Ninh Binh) to Dai La (now Hanoi) and built the Thang Long Citadel. In 1011, he visited the Sai Temple and moved the ancestral tablet of the god Huyen Thien Tran Vu from there to the Quan Thanh Temple by the Thang Long West Lake for worship, honoring him as the god guarding the north of the capital of Thang Long.

"Along with the Co Loa Festival, the Sai Temple Festival has been listed as a National Intangible Heritage and is preserved, handed down and honoured by generations of people in the district, becoming an invaluable resource for local culture," said Tam.

"These are great potentials and advantages to develop tourism in the district, especially under the current globalisation conditions, Dong Anh is becoming an attractive and friendly destination, making tourism a significant contributor to socio-economic development and becoming a key economic sector of the district in the coming time," she said.

Delegates cut the ribbon to launch the Sai Temple-Co Loa Heritage Journey. Photo: Doan Thanh/The Hanoi Times