Hoa Lu Festival, the national cultural heritage in the northern province of Ninh Binh, kicked off on April 5 — the ninth day of the third lunar month.
Among the festival highlights, is a water-carrying procession from the Hoang Long River to the King Đinh temple in the early morning of the same day.
The ritual intends to remember the services of Đinh Bộ Lĩnh, the first Vietnamese emperor, following the liberation of the country from the rule of the Chinese southern Han Dynasty and the founder of the Đinh Dynasty — a significant figure in the establishment of Vietnamese independence and political unity in the 10th century.
The three-day festival will be marked by a range of cultural and sport activities, including a requiem, a temple gate-opening ceremony, a display of colored lanterns and flower garlands, and performance of folk games.
The festival contributes to preserving and upholding the country’s traditional cultural values, apart from promoting the locality’s tourism potential.
In the late 10th century, Hoa Lu was the capital as well as the economic, political and cultural hub of Dai Co Viet founded by Đinh Bộ Lĩnh (968-979), and then the Early Lê Dynasty (980-1009).
Source: en.nhandan.com.vn
