Hung Temple Festival begins jubilantly
04/04/2006 (GMT+7)
The Hung King Temple Festival started yesterday in the northern province of Phu Tho with the participation of a large number of visitors from all over the country. It is estimated that more than 20,000 visitors had come to the temple for two days before the opening day.
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The festival includes two main parts, the ceremony and rituals. The ceremony takes place for three days, from April 5-7; the most important part of which is an incense offering ceremony in honour of Hung Kings. The rituals take place for five days with a great variety of activities such as folk games, sports competitions, fairs, tours. The ceremony began with an impressive performance of beating bronze drums, lion dances and folk songs of Phu Tho province, performed at the historical site of Hung Temples by artists and artisans from Kim Duc Commune, Phu Ninh District. It was followed by the competitions of volleyball, archery, and Chinese chess at stadium No 2 in the temple’s area. The festival is also expanded into Viet Tri City and neighbouring areas of Phu Ninh and Lam Thao districts, including a book exhibition with the title “From the Hung Temples, Looking towards the Whole Country and the Whole Country Looking towards to the Hung Temples.” Together with the Hung King Fair 2006 held annually at Hung Son town, the district of Lam Thao organised traditional rural market days which show weaving crafts, folk games, and booths selling square and long rice cakes, symbols of folk culture that has become traditional at festivals in the ancestral land. The sports sector of the province is also organising the national volleyball championships to compete for Hung King Cup and a boat race on the Lo River. The festival also attracts the participation of an art troupe of the Republic of Korea. (Source: ND)
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