The My Duc district Party Committee submitted a proposal to the Standing Committee of the Hanoi Party Committee and the People's Committee on the reopening and receiving of guests to the National Special Historical Relic Site and Landscape Complex, Huong Son – Huong Pagoda. The locality suspended the operation of the Huong Pagoda festival during Tet (Lunar New Year), which falls between the 15th day of the first lunar month and the 18th day of the second lunar month. The COVID-19 pandemic in Hanoi and My Duc district has been controlled and assessed as safe for tourism. Photo: Tourists at Huong Pagoda on the first day of reopening (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Boats line up at the wharf on the way to Huong Pagoda. The pagoda, located in Huong Son commune, My Duc district, is part of a vast complex of Buddhist temples and shrines built in limestone Huong Tich mountains. Every year, the site hosts a large number of pilgrims from all over the country. The pilgrimage festival starts on the 6th day of the lunar year, while the peak of the festival falls between the 15th day of the first lunar month and the 18th day of the second lunar month. However, the spectacular landscape draws tourists throughout the year. Hundreds of pagodas and shrines are scattered along the Yen Stream. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Despite the cold and rainy weather, pilgrims still flock to Huong Pagoda. Located in Huong Son commune, the Huong Son Landscape Complex, also known as Huong Pagoda, is both a famous religious site and a beautiful sightseeing destination. Going to Huong Pagoda is a spiritual journey to the Buddhist Land – where the Goddess of Mercy leads a religious life. Visitors have sightseeing trips to pagodas, temples and caves which are the main attractions at the Huong pagoda festival, the largest of its kind in Vietnam, and join ceremonies to ask for favours from Lord Buddha. Constructed in the late 17th century, the complex has a large number of pagodas, temples and caverns filled with marvellous stalactites and stalagmites. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
A boat carrying visitors to Huong Pagoda. Boat operators and tour guides at the relict site are fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 and asked to wear masks while riding. Overcrowding has become common at the pagoda in Huong Son commune, situated amid mountains and forests, in the early days of a lunar new year. The grand festival attracts hundreds of thousands of Buddhism followers. In 2018, when the pandemic had yet to break out, the Huong Pagoda festival welcomed some 1.4 million pilgrims and ticket sales fetched 112 billion VND (4.8 million USD). The Huong Pagoda festival features a series of activities like dragon dancing, boat racing and folk singing. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Visitors wear raincoats and masks on the boat to Huong Pagoda. Implementing the "dual goal" of both effective prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic and socio-economic development, in addition to locals and pilgrims’ wishes, local authorities have worked with relevant departments to assess the situation and take measures to ensure safety for visitors at the relic site in the new normal. The Department of Culture and Sports has been given responsibility for coordinating with the Department of Health in guiding My Duc district in implementing pandemic prevention and control measures. A specialised team has been established to evaluate and draw the experience of receiving tourists. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
A stall at Ben Tro (Tro Wharf) to provide first aid to visitors. The pagoda, actually a complex with a collection of temples and pagodas built amid mountains and forests in My Duc District, has reopened after being closed for a year. To reach it, pilgrims need to take a boat ride along the 4-km Yen Stream, and by early morning hundreds of boats stand ready to carry them. On January 25, My Duc district authorities announced the cancellation of the Huong Pagoda festival over COVID fears. But last month, Hanoi authorities decided to reopen it on February 16 with pandemic safety measures in place. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Nguyen Ba Hien, head of the pagoda complex management board, said the pagoda welcomed up to 5,000 visitors on the first day. Vietnamese, especially Buddhists, have a long tradition of visiting pagodas and temples during the lunar New Year to pray for peace and good luck during the year. An estimated 70 percent of the population is either Buddhist or follows Buddhism. The Huong Pagoda festival is one of the most popular in Hanoi, and tens of thousands of people make the pilgrimage after the lunar New Year to celebrate the spring festival. Many people have decided to set sail in the early hours to avoid the heat and crowds. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Truong, a resident in Yen Vy hamlet, Huong Son commune, sits in his clothes shop at the complex. The man said he is happy to resume his business after the pandemic. Hanoi allowed historical sites to welcome visitors starting from February 15. The municipal Department of Culture and Sports suggested localities direct and guide historical-cultural sites to develop plans and prepare adequate facilities and conditions for pandemic prevention and control. At all relic sites, it is required to create a QR code to manage people entering, leaving and making medical declarations according to regulations, arrange guiding forces, and separate visitors to avoid crowding. Visitors at the site are recommended that they have received at least two doses of vaccine or have a negative PCR test result within 72 hours. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
The rain stopped at nearly 11 o’clock, making it easier for visitors to reach the pagoda. My Duc district has set up checkpoints to control the pandemic at the entrances and exits of the Huong Son scenic area. Visitors with COVID-19 symptoms will be taken to an isolation point and supported by health workers, following regulations. Organisers recommend that tourists and boat owners strictly follow the 5K message, wash their hands with sanitiser, and have a sense of self-prevention against the pandemic to protect themselves and the community. Visitors who have not received two doses of the vaccine should not visit Huong Pagoda on this occasion due to the high possibility of infection. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Although fewer pilgrims are visiting the pagoda this year, they still came in droves. In the case of guests travelling in large groups, the group's representative must make a medical declaration, and provide information and phone numbers for tracing when necessary. Going to Huong Pagoda is a spiritual journey to the Buddhist Land – where the Goddess of Mercy leads a religious life. Visitors have sightseeing trips to pagodas, temples and caves which are the main attractions at the Huong pagoda festival, and join ceremonies to ask for favours from Lord Buddha. Constructed in the late 17th century, the Huong Pagoda Complex has a large number of pagodas, temples and caverns filled with marvelous stalactites and stalagmites. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Most of the visitors wear masks while praying. Huong Pagoda was built at the end of the 17th century inside Huong Tich Cave, which was almost destroyed by the French in 1947. In 1988, late monk Thich Thanh Chan had the pagoda rebuilt. Visitors will find the line “Huong Tich Dong Mon” (The Gate of Huong Tich Cave) carved at the entrance of the cave, after taking a stone stairway of 120 steps leading to the cave. There remain traces of Tinh Do Vuong Trinh Sam (1739-1782), the 8th Lord of the Trinh royal reign ruling the north of Vietnam. He ordered a carving of five Han Chinese characters when visiting the site in 1770. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
However, there remain visitors who do not observe COVID-19 prevention and control regulations. Huong Pagoda, about 65km from the centre of Hanoi, is a famous Buddhist pagoda complex in Vietnam, boasting sacred places of worship as well as a picturesque natural landscape. Its annual festival, deeply imbued with the cultural and spiritual values of the Vietnamese people, attracts thousands of visitors who come to worship Buddha and pray for good luck, wealth and health. To Vietnamese people, a trip to the Huong Son landscape complex is considered a pilgrimage to the land of Buddha, which is believed to be the place where Avalokitesvara led a religious life. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
The Huong Pagoda Festival is traditionally held from the sixth day of the first lunar month, which was originally the day of forest opening, through the third lunar month. It is the biggest traditional festival in Hanoi as well as Vietnam as a whole. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, visitors to the Huong Pagoda Festival must comply with disease prevention rules. To ensure safety, the People’s Committee of My Duc district, which is the festival organising board, has a detailed plan of COVID-19 prevention and control for the Huong Son landscape complex. Apart from the checkpoints on the three roads to the complex, relevant forces also patrol on Yen Stream and in relic sites to remind travellers of anti-pandemic measures and respect for worshipping places. (Photo: VietnamPlus) 
Visitors come to Huong Tich Cave and other spiritual sites in the complex with wishes of a good New Year and that the pandemic will soon be over. Dedicated to Avalokitesvara, Huong Tich Cave is praised as “Nam Thien de nhat dong”, which means the most beautiful cave in Vietnam. Its entrance is like the mouth of a giant dragon, from which visitors go down another 120 stairs to reach the cave. The site houses stalactites and stalagmites of various sizes and shapes, creating a spectacular natural masterpiece that impresses any who come to admire the landscape and make prayers there. (Photo: VietnamPlus) VNA
