Many fortune-tellers and beggars have been operating at festivals across the country, annoying visitors.

Dozens of beggars and people offering other services in exchange for small banknotes have been in abundance around the area of Bai Dinh Pagoda in the northern province of Ninh Binh, which has been recognised as the largest pagoda in Southeast Asia.

Thousands of Buddhist monks and visitors attend the opening ceremony of Bai Dinh Pagoda Festival on February 5

Beggars often follow visitors in order to solicit money and have been the cause of much irritation.

A female visitor named Minh, from Ninh Binh Province, said, “I’ve never seen such chaos at pagoda before. I wonder if the organisation board pay enough attention to the situation.”

Beggars flock to the pagoda

This year, there has been a sharp increase in the number of visitors coming in the first days of lunar new year. Tram cars fail to meet the rising demand, giving a chance for motorbike taxi drivers. The aftermath can be seen at the chaotic bus stations that are overrun with solicitors, noisy horns and price gouging.

Many fortune-tellers

Motorbike taxi drivers wait for passengers

Fast food store in the middle of a pagoda’s yard

Stores set up around the pagoda

Littering

Several other pagodas and temples in the central provinces of Ha Tinh and Nghe An have undergone similar transformations.

Beggars in abundance at Ong Hoang Muoi Temple

Ong Hoang Muoi Temple, in Hung Thinh Commune, Nghe An Province, attracts tens of thousands of visitors per day during the first days of the lunar New Year. Many beggars surround visitors to solicit money.

Beggars at Cho Cui Temple

Beggars are also openly operating around Cho Cui Temple in Xuan Hong Commune, Ha Tinh Province. Around 20 beggars of different ages and genders, mainly the disabled and children, live there.

Beggars at Hong Son Temple in Vinh City