Hung Temple Festival

Time: The 8th to the 11th day of the third lunar month, main festival day on the 10th day of the third lunar month.
Place: Nghia Linh Mountain, Hy Cuong Commune, Viet Tri City, Phu Tho Province.
Objects of worship: Kings Hung.
Characteristics: This is the ancestors' death anniversary of the whole nation. At the same time with incense-offering ceremony at Hung Temple in Phu Tho Province, sacrifice-offering ceremonies at Hung Temple in Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang and other provinces are aslo celebrated.
Legend: 18 generations of Kings Hung established Van Lang State, the predecessor of the present - day Vietnam.
Main activities:
- The procession of 3 local communes from the communal houses to the foot of the mountain.
- The incense offering ceremony.
- Xoan singing, bronze drum dancing

Describing the festival

The festival begins with a palanquin procession performed by three villages of Co Tich, Vi Cuong and Trieu Phu. The procession carries bamboo elephants and wooden horses symbolizing the submission of animals to the Kings Hung and the wedding of the Mountain Genie and Princess Ngoc Hoa.

 

Banh chung (square sticky rice cake) and banh giay (round sticky rice cake) are indispensable offerings in the procession in order to honour the merit of the Kings Hung who taught people to plant rice and to remind people of Lang Lieu who invented these cakes.

 

The worship service is held on the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month and commences with a flower ceremony with the participation of state representatives. Held in Thuong Temple, where the Kings Hung used to worship deities with full rituals, the ceremony is conducted with the traditional rituals representing the whole nation. During that time, the nha to Do Ngai guild performs singing and dancing to welcome visitors.

 

 

The children of the Kings Hung throughout the country converge on the temple to offer incense. The procession includes the state representatives, one hundred young men and women in traditional costumes symbolizing 'children of the Dragon and Fairy' and pilgrims.

 

The procession marches are followed by a Xoan singing performance (a kind of folk song of Vinh - Phu region) in Thuong Temple, ca tru (a kind of classical opera) in Ha Temple, and other activities including bamboo swings, nem con (throwing a sacred ball through the ring), cham thau (beating bronze drum), dam duong (pounding rice).

 

Hung Temple Festival not only attracts visitors from all over the country because of its special traditional cultural activities, but it is also a sacred trip back in time to the origins of the Vietnamese nation. People usually show their love and pride of their homeland and ancestral land. This religious belief deeply imbedded in the minds of every Vietnamese citizen, regardless of where they originate.

ALBUM
WHERE TO STAY
Phuong Nam Hotel

Add: 1948 Hung Vuong St., Viet Tri City

Tel: (84-210) 3845 125

Khanh Linh Hotel

Add: 2094 Hung Vuong St., Viet Tri City

Tel: (84-210) 3846 872

Hong Ngoc 2 Hotel

Add: 938 Hung Vuong St., Viet Tri City

Tel: (84-210) 3862 023

Muong Thanh Luxury Phu Tho Hotel

Add: Lot CC17, Hung Vuong Square, Gia Cam Ward, Viet Tri City

Tel: (84-210) 3616 666

Hong Ngoc Hotel

Add: 1482 Hung Vuong St., Viet Tri City

Tel: (84-210) 3844 513

Ha Noi Hotel

Add: 2191 Hung Vuong St., Viet Tri City

Tel: (84-210) 3849 950

Hoang Long Hotel

Add: 2454 Hung Vuong St., Viet Tri City

Tel: (84-210) 3952 410

WHERE TO EAT
Vuon Hong Restaurant

Add: Hung Vuong St., Viet Tri City

Tavern of special Fish Restaurant

Add: Near by Thao River, Viet Tri City

Tel: (84-210) 3846 013

Coi Nguon Restaurant

Add: Group 5, Tan Viet, Viet Tri City

Tel: (84-210) 3970 324

Gia Hoang New Strar Restaurant

Add: Tan Thuan St., Viet Tri City

Tel: (84-210) 6269 669

Quan Ca Bo Song Restaurant

Add: Song Thao St., Viet Tri City

Tel: (84-210) 3846 013

Thuy Tien Café

Add: 1460 Hung Vuong St., Viet Tri City