Hung Kings Temple Festival.
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“This year, the province will continue making efforts to popularise Xoan singing and Hung Kings worshipping rituals, which were recognised by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage of humanity,” San quoted as saying.
The organising committee has been set up with sub-committees and inter-sector inspection teams responsible for monitoring and examining the preparation and businesses in the festival’s areas, to prepare for the festival, he added.
A series of exciting festive activities will be held during the five-day festival, including a book fair, “Chung” (square cake) making contest, exhibition, cultural camp, art performances and particularly Xoan singing.
Holy places and stairs leading to the Hung Temple Complex have been repaired and renovated while tour guides will be arranged to instruct tourists how to practice rituals, according to the complex’s director Nguyen Duy Anh.
The complex’s management board will work to ensure visitors’ safety, he added.
In 2016, Hung Kings Temple welcomed 7 million visitors during festival. This year’s festival was held successfully and efficiently, leaving generally positive impression on visitors. Hundreds of personnel and volunteers were deployed to maintain security and tidy up after tourists, according to the organising board.
The Hung Kings founded the first nation in the history of Vietnam, called Van Lang, in Phong Chau, now Phu Tho province. Ruling the country through 18 generations (2879–258 BC), the Hung Kings taught locals how to grow wet rice. They chose Nghia Linh Mountain, the highest in the region, to perform rituals devoted to rice and sun deities to pray for lush crops.
To honour their great history, a complex of temples dedicated to them was built on Nghia Linh Mountain, and the tenth day of the third lunar month serves as the national commemorative anniversary for the kings. The worshipping rituals of the Hung Kings was recognised as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2012.
