Hanoi (VNA) – Spring festivals have been held in the northeastern province of Quang Ninh and north central province of Thanh Hoa, attracting crowds of visitors.
Ngoa Van spring festival was opened at the Tran Dynasty Special Relic Site in Dong Trieu town on February 6 or the ninth day of the first lunar month.
The festival, running to the end of the third lunar month, aims to pay tribute to King Monk Tran Nhan Tong, honour the ideological values of the Truc Lam Zen sect, and pray for a prosperous year.
It is recorded that Tran Nhan Tong (1258-1308), the third King of the Tran Dynasty, ascended to the throne when he was just 21. He is famed for defeating Mongol invaders twice as well as developing the national economy and culture during his 15-year reign.
The King abdicated when he was 35 and spent the rest of his life on Yen Tu Mountain practicing and propagating Buddhism. He founded the first Vietnamese School of Buddhism called “Thien Tong” or Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen on the 1,068m-high Yen Tu Mountain. The 20,000ha site is considered the capital of Vietnamese Buddhism.
He then attained Nirvana in 1308 at Ngoa Van Pagoda, located in a complex of landscape and historical sites on the Yen Tu Mountain range.
Meanwhile, thousands flocked to the Heaven's Gate Opening festival at the Nui Nua – Am Tien (Nua mount – Tien temple) relic site in Nua town, Thanh Hoa’s Trieu Son district from midnight on February 5 to the dawn of February 6.
The festival features traditional rituals such as water procession and incense offering to honour the contributions of ancestors and national heroes, while praying for national peace, good weather, bumper crops, and happiness for all families.
At the festival, visitors experienced unique local cultural tradition and enjoyed special dishes.
The Nui Nua - Am Tien complex located on Nua mountain is associated with the uprising against Chinese Eastern Wu dynasty in 248, led by Ba Trieu (Lady Trieu), who built a pagoda named Bich Van Cung Tu or Am Tien. Later, locals built a temple at the foot of Nua mountain to worship Lady Trieu and restored Am Tien relic on the top of the mountain./.
