The thousand-year-old temple of King Le (King Le Dai Hanh) is situated in the ancient capital of Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh Province, around 200 kilometers away from Hanoi. King Le Temple seen from the top of Ma Yen Mountain. Every year the temple and the nearby Dinh King temple attract hundreds of thousands of people who come to pay their respects to King Le who fought courageously, protecting the country from the threat of invasion from the Chinese in the North. Before occupying the throne and becoming the first King of the Le Dynasty, Le Hoan was an excellent general under King Dinh Tien Hoang. After the death of King Dinh, Le Hoan received support from the king’s wife and other military men, taking the throne and leading the fight against the army of the Song dynasty of China and began the southward expansion process against the kingdom of Champa. The temple of Le King was first constructed in 1010 after the capital was moved to Thang Long, now Hanoi, on the area of … [Read more...] about The temple of King Le honors great warrior
King le dai hanh
King ploughs field at festival
VietNamNet Bridge – The spring plough festival to pray for good harvests took place in Doi Son commune, Duy Tien district, in the northern province of Ha Nam on February 9. Many officials participated in the event. According to historical records, in AD 987King Le Dai Hanh visited Doi Son and ploughed field to pray for a new year with good harvest. Since then, kings went to Doi Son every spring to perform the plough rituals to celebrate agriculture. This is the third year since the plough festival was resumed in Doi Son. Last year President Nguyen Minh Triet attended the festival and ploughed the field. The festival used to be organized after the lunar New Year (Tet) holiday (the seventh day of the lunar year), with dragon dances, palanquin procession and offerings. The festival in pictures: The palanquin of King Le Dai Hanh is carried to the rostrum built in the field of Doi Tam village. A drum show. Dragon dance in the field. A village elder dressed in the yellow costume … [Read more...] about King ploughs field at festival
Festivals honour rice, heroes and pilgrims
VietNamNet Bridge – A three-day festival commemorating mythical Vietnamese hero Saint Giong began in Ha Noi yesterday, Feb 8. The annual event at Soc Temple is one of several festivals in the north to honour of Saint Giong, a legendary hero who is said to have defeated an army of foreign invaders. Participants at the Soc Temple festivities took part in offerings to the saint, the moc duc ceremony, symbolising a cleansing process for the temple, and the bamboo procession, which celebrates Saint Giong's martial arts skills with a bamboo weapon used to defeat the invaders. According to legend, Saint Giong was only three years old when the country was invaded by northern troops. When the infant Giong heard an official from the royal court calling for skilled warriors to defend the motherland, he magically grew in stature. Last year, the Saint Giong festival was recognised by UNESCO as an example of the world's intangible heritage that should be … [Read more...] about Festivals honour rice, heroes and pilgrims
Spring festivals bloom across the country
The Au Co Mother Temple Festival opened in Hien Luong commune, Ha Hoa district, Phu Tho province on February 9, the seventh day of the first lunar month. The three-day festival is the start of the ‘Traveling to the Roots’ 2011 programme, which is being held jointly by Phu Tho, Yen Bai and Lao Cai provinces. * On the same day, the Tien Cong Temple Festival kicked off in Cam La commune, Yen Hung district, Quang Ninh province to commemorate the ancestors of the Ha Nam Island. * In other festivals across the north, people in Doi Son commune, Duy Tien district, Ha Nam province began the Tich Dien (Ploughing the Rice Fields) festival to pray for favourable weather and bumper crops. The three-day festival commemorates the day in the year 987 when King Le Dai Hanh ploughed a field to encourage farming. * Meanwhile, an annual boat race, the largest ever, was held in Tuy An district in the southern central coastal province of Phu Yen. The event featured traditional rituals as well … [Read more...] about Spring festivals bloom across the country
Trang An seeks world cultural landscape title
VietNamNet Bridge – The management board of Trang An tourist attraction in Ninh Binh province is compiling a file to submit to the UNESCO, seeking this organization’s recognition of Trang An as a world cultural landscape. The concepts of world natural and cultural heritage were launched in 1972. However, until 1992, the definition of “cultural landscape” was introduced by the UNESCO. To be recognized as a world cultural landscape, nominated sites must satisfy six criteria for cultural heritage and four criteria for natural heritage. So far, only 28 sites in the world have been recognized as cultural landscape by the UNESCO. “Some UNESCO’s experts advised us to seek this title,” said Mr. Nguyen Duc Long, director of the Trang An tourist site. The file of Trang An will be sent to the UNESCO in September 2013. The result will be announced in 2014. Long said that it is more highly possible for the site to be recognized as a … [Read more...] about Trang An seeks world cultural landscape title