Hung Kings festival

Drawing locals, overseas Vietnamese and foreigners, the ceremony will involve an incense tribute at the Temple of the Hung Kings on Mount Nghia Linh to honour the legendary Vietnam founders.

Representatives from the Party, the State and relevant central and local agencies will attend. Trays of fruit, flowers and square and round glutinous rice cakes (banh chung and banh day) will be presented at the ceremony.

Legend has it that the square cake represents the Earth and the round cake Heaven.

Pilgrims will also lay flowers at President Ho Chi Minh’s statue at Gieng Temple where the president met Division Tien Phong (Vanguard) of the Vietnam People’s Army as soldiers advanced to take over Hanoi from the French in 1954.

Offerings from all corners of the country will be made at other temples at Mount Nghia Linh to honour the Hung Dynasty and its 18 generations of national rule.

The seminar Cultural Space of the Hung Kings Land will produce a cultural heritage proposal, the first of its kind, for submission to UNESCO in recognition of the site as part of world heritage.

On the sixth day of the third lunar month, the festival opened with A Poetry Night to the Root and was followed by an enormous coffee cup display, recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest ever of its kind and offered at the Vietnamese ancestors’ altar. One hundred workers of the Bien Hoa Vinacafe used 816kg of instant coffee to fill the cup with 3,613 litres of java.

Cultural activities will include a procession of palanquins, folk songs and performances such as hat xoan and lion dancing. Sports competitions like swimming, shooting cross-bow, Chinese chess and traditional wrestling are also on offer, according to organisers.

Famous art troupes from the Viet Bac Folk Song and Dance Theatre, the Phu Tho Cheo Art Troupe and the Republic of Korea’s Art Troupe in conjunction with many others will also perform.

Viet Tri City will celebrate with a fireworks display.

“Differing from last year, this year’s Hung Kings Festival will include fairs displaying fruit specialities from provinces and cities nationwide under the theme: Fragrant Fruits for Hung Kings. Competition on wrapping and cooking banh chung and banh day will be held with the participation of more than 30 cities and provinces from north to south.

“We aimed to choose a location known for delicious and beautiful cakes to offer to the Hung Kings,” said Nguyen Tien Khoi, director of the Hung Temple historical relic.

Exhibitions titled Images on the Hung Kings’ Death Anniversary Nationwide and Hung Kings Festival in the Past and Present at the Hung Kings Museum will appeal to those looking for historical angles to the festival.

A book exhibition will be staged at the provincial library to help visitors better understand the land and people of Phu Tho.

This year is the second of the new national holiday created by the Government to honour the founding of the country by the Hung family 4,000 years ago.

The festival included a palanquin procession, an incense offering, dancing and the unveiling of calligraphy works.

Ethnic groups around the country offered 4,000 square glutinous rice cakes at the park’s Temple of Hung Kings. The rice cakes were shared with some 5,000 visitors, who participated in traditional song and dance performances, games and martial art competitions.

It is expected that more than 30,000 visitors will attend the Suoi Tien Festival on April 15.

The Legend of the Hung Kings, a special traditional music and dance programme, will be staged alongside the circus, water puppet shows and folk games. Human chess and sport competitions are also on the agenda.

Dozens of culinary specialists from local hotels and restaurants will display traditional Vietnamese dishes from Hanoi, Hue and Hoi an

Traditional games and night camps in honour of the Hung Kings will be held in Can tho Phu Yen, Bac Lieu and many other location across the nation.

(CPV/VNA)