Jubilant activities head to Hung Kings Temple Festival 2013 in Vietnam

The Hung Kings Temple Festival 2013 will kick off in the northern midland province of Phu Tho on April 13 (the fourth day of the third lunar year). The opening, which will be broadcast live on Vietnam Television, will feature an awards presentation ceremony honouring the province’s Hung Kings worshipping ritual as a World Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

A high-range fireworks display to celebrate the important event will also take place at Hung Vuong square later that evening.

The week-long festival will feature a Xoan (Spring singing) and folk songs fest, a cultural exchange camp, a banh chung (glutinous-ricesquare cake) and banh day (glutinous-rice round cake) making contest, exhibitions and film screenings plus sporting events such as the PV Oil Volleyball League and a swimming competition.

A street carnival themed ‘Culture of the Hung Kings Ancestral Land: Confluence and Shining’ will take place along main streets of Viet Tri city and Hung Vuong square throughout the event to introduce visitors to the diversity of the locality’s folk culture.

On the eve of the event, the provincial People’s Committee has instructed relevant sectors to maintain social order and security, prevent fire and explosion, ensure food safety and hygiene during the festival.

Located on Nghia Linh Mountain, Hung Kings Temple is a complex of ancient tombs, monuments and temples commemorating Hung Kings, the nation’s legendary founders. The annual Hung Kings Temple festival

was officially acknowledged as a national festival in 2000. The unique practice of worshipping Hung Kings won UNESCO recognition as the world’s intangible cultural heritage in December 2012.