Hundreds of thousands pay tribute to Hung Kings

Vietnamese people commemorate the Hung Kings (2879-258 BCE), the nation’s founders, on the 10th day of the third lunar month, which falls on Apr. 10 this year.
Traditionally, a festival is organized at the Hung Kings Temple at Nghia Linh Mountain in northern Phu Tho Province.

Palanquins and offerings are carried ceremoniously to the temple.

A delegation of Party and State leaders led by President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (center) joined the ceremony at the temple Sunday morning.

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims flocked to the temple.
With Covid-19 deemed under control across the country, pilgrims from various localities, including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, thronged to pay their tributes to the nation’s founders and seek their blessings.

As the commemoration day fell on Sunday, the three-day festival began a day earlier and all routes leading from Viet Tri Town to the temple area were packed with vehicles since Saturday.
Le Truong Giang, director of the Hung Kings Temple site, said that as of Sunday morning, around 500,000 pilgrims had visited the site, more than five times the figure last year.

A youth volunteer adjusts the face mask sitting on an adult’s shoulders.

Two women carry offerings on their heads as they tried to weave their way through the crowd.
Many people set up camps to stay overnight inside the temple area or at the foot of Nghia Linh Mountain for the main ceremony that takes place Sunday.

A police officer helps a woman with kids to get through the crowd.

Groups of pilgrims outside the temple Sunday morning.
After a three-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Phu Tho authorities resumed ceremonial activities for the festival this year, instead of organizing basic rituals without crowds as they did in 2019, 2020 and 2021. This year, the festival will include many attractions including water puppet shows, exhibitions and firework displays.

On Saturday night, thousands gathered at the lakeside Van Lang Park in Viet Tri Town, more than 12km from the temple, to enjoy fireworks that lit up the skies.