In every Vietnamese person’s mind, the Hung Kings Temple Festival and Hung Kings’ death anniversary is a symbol of spiritual and religious culture, representing the great unity of the community of Vietnamese ethnic groups.

Vietnamese people inside and outside the country gather together for the Hung Kings Temple Festival to pay respect and gratitude to their ancestors, reflecting the Vietnamese tradition of “drinking water remembering its source”.

Since 1958, the Hung Kings Temple Festival has been growing to become one of the country’s largest festivals. Last year, the festival and Hung Kings’ death anniversary were organised nationwide, leaving deep impressions on visitors.

Preparatory work for the 2006 Hung Temple Festival has been underway for same time. In particular, a traditional cultural festival was co-organised by the northern provinces of Phu Tho, Lao Cai and Yen Bai, marking the start of a tourism year called “Returning to the Roots”. Along with a series of smaller festivals, the Hung Kings Temple Festival was selected as the main event in the “Returning to the Roots” tourism programme, creating a common image of Vietnamese cultural identities.

Culture and Information agencies has co-ordinated to plan ritual ceremonials and music for the Hung Kings incense-offering ceremony, as well as conducting research and restoring folk festivals of the Dao people.

Among the many changes to the Hung Kings festival this year, activities have been held in a solemn and respectful atmosphere, backed by historically oriented education programmes, suitable to an honoured ancestor’s death anniversary.

Activities have spread to Lam Thao and Phu Ninh although Viet Tri is still considered the centre of the festival’s activities.

The Hung Kings Festival 2006 will feature many art troupes from the Republic of Korea, the Vietnam Opera and Ballet Theatre, and Military Zone No 2. Many folk games are also to be held at the festival. There will be an exhibition showcasing artifacts discovered by archaeologists in Phu Tho province, and an exhibition displaying books and documents related to the Hung Kings. A beauty contest is also to be held during the festival.

On March 9, there will be fireworks displays in Lam Thao town and Hung Kings Temple, with the main incense ceremony to be held on March 10 at Nghia Linh mountain, a sacred site of the Hung Kings Temple.