Hung Kings Festival

The ceremony was held at the Temple of the Hung Kings on Mount Nghia Linh in Hy Cuong Commune to honour the legendary founders of Viet nam

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong and Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan attended the ceremony, along with leaders from the Viet Nam Fatherland Front, leaders from committees of the Party Central Committee, leaders of many cities and provinces and people from all over the country, as well as overseas Vietnamese and foreigners.

Accompanying the ceremony, many cultural, artistic and sports activities were held in recent days at the historical relics of the Hung Kings Temple and in Viet Tri City.

A group of overseas Vietnamese, along with more than 30 people from many countries including France, Germany and the Republic of Korea, attended the ceremony. This was the second time the delegation attended the incense offering ceremony at the Temple.

They also planted trees to commemorate the ceremony at the national forest, beside the Temple.

Cultural and artistic activities were held yesterday in the central provinces of Khanh Hoa and Phu Yen.

In Hcm city thousands of people from HCM City and neighbouring provinces visited the Zoological and Botanical Garden in District 1 yesterday for the opening of a festival celebrating the legendary Hung Kings.

The national holiday on March 10 of the lunar calendar, created by the Government last year, honours the founding of the country by the Hung family 4,000 years ago.

The festival included a palanquin procession and an incense offering by city authorities and visitors, who visited the garden’s Temple of the Hung Kings early in the morning.

Dozens of professional performers in traditional clothes presented dance items that featured historical stories about Hung dynasty and its 18 subsequent generations that ruled the country.

They also offered the traditional cakes of banh chung (square glutinous rice cake) and banh day (circle glutinous rice cake) to honour the Hung Kings.

The rice cakes were shared with some 4,000 disadvantaged children who participated in traditional performances of song and dance, games and martial arts competitions.

The event also included a camping night organised by the city’s Youth Union, which features different cultural activities such as dragon dancing and the unveiling of works of thu phap (calligraphy).

The Revisiting The Root attracted more than 2,000 students and young people, who were able to learn more about the country’s history, traditional culture and lifestyle.

Another anniversary celebration organised in District 11’s Dam Sen Park attracted over 20,000 children visitors, who received free tickets from the organisers and sponsors.

Guests participated in special traditional music and dance programmes, which were staged along with folk games, circus and water puppet shows, and sports competitions.

They also enjoyed lively cai luong (renovated theatre) performances by young stars like Que Tran and Phuong Hang, who could help audiences, including many Viet kieu (overseas Vietnamese), learn more about the country’s culture.

This year Dam Sen Park cooked two great cakes of banh chung and banh day, one weighing two tonnes and the other one tonne, costing VND100 million (US$6,200) which were delivered to the Temple of Hung Kings in Phu Tho Province’s Viet Tri City. — VNS