The information was released by Nguyen Ba Hien, Head of the Management Board of the Huong Son Historical and Scenic Complex in My Duc District in Hanoi, on Feb. 6.

The Huong Pagoda Festival in 2021 is planned to take place in three months, from February 13 to the end of May 5. The opening ceremony of the festival is held on the sixth day of the first month in the lunar calendar every year.

Before the festive season, all preparations have been made seriously. The organizer of the Huong Pagoda Festival has also made plans to flexibly respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, visitors are required to wear facemasks and strictly follow the 5K message of the Ministry of Health, including Khau trang (Facemask) - Khu khuan (Disinfection) - Khoang cach (Distance) - Khong tu tap (No gathering) – Khai bao y te (Medical declaration) to prevent and fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, due to the complicated development of the pandemic, My Duc District decided not to organize the opening ceremony of the festival and also stop receiving visitors during this time to implement the direction of the Government, Hanoi City, and the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports on strengthening the prevention and control on the Covid-19 pandemic in festival activities.

On the same day, the organizing committee of the Dong Da Festival, one of the major festivals of Hanoi City in early spring, which usually takes place on the fifth day of the first month in the lunar calendar, attracting thousands of locals and tourists, also made a decision to cancel the festival.