>> Commemorating the Hung Kings

Around three million people went to the Hung Temple to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Hung King this year.

Nguyen Tien Khoi, Director of Hung Temple Historic Relic, explained that a longer holiday and nice weather have encouraged more people to visit the place, which is known as the land of Vietnamese ancestors.

The two major parts of the holiday fell on April 11 and 12 this year.

Pham Ba Manh from Nghe An province’s Tan Ky district said, “Heavy flows of people to Hung Temple have caused serious traffic jams. It takes around one day for my family to travel from my hometown to this historic relic. This is the first time when I’ve been the land of ancestors. I feel very excited and forget how tired I am from travelling such a long distance.”

As of mid April 11, tens of thousands of people continued their journey to the relic’s centre, making all the paths very crowded.

Party Politburo members offered incense and flowers at the Hung Kings’ Temple Relic Complex in the northern province of Phu Tho on April 10.

On the evening April 10, a delegation of 50 overseas Vietnamese from countries around the world have returned home to make offerings of incense.

There are efforts underway to gain recognition from UNESCO of these worship activities, along with Xoan singing, as an intangible cultural heritage.

Photos captured from Hung Temple:

Hung Temple welcomes more and more visitors

Tens of thousands wait in excitement

All paths are full of pilgrims

Security force sandwiched between the crowds

Very little space for rest