Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh offers incense at the festival (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh beat the drum and offered incense at the opening of the Hai Ba Trung (Trung Sisters) Temple Festival in Hanoi’s outlying district of Me Linh on February 10 (the sixth day of the Lunar New Year).
The festival was also meant to mark the 1979th anniversary of Hai Ba Trung Uprising at the Hai Ba Trung Temple, a special national relic site.
On the sixth day of the second lunar month in 40 AD, the Trung Sisters led a mass uprising against the Han invaders to reclaim national independence after more than 200 years of foreign rule.
After defeating the invaders, Trung Trac became King. Three years later, the Han army returned and defeated the Trung Sisters and their army, after which the sisters killed themselves by jumping into the Hat Giang River.
The uprising has gone down in Vietnamese history as a demonstration of the nation's strength and patriotism, as well as the crucial role of Vietnamese women in national construction and defence.
On February 9, 2018, the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism signed a decision recognising the festival as a national intangible cultural heritage.
On the occasion, the organising board also held an exhibition featuring contributions by generations of Vietnamese women to national development.
Vice President Thinh later attended the launch of a tree planting ceremony in Me Linh district and also planted a tree at the campus of the district People’s Committee.-VNA
