The 2007 Hung Kings Festival, which falls on April 26 this year, is expected to be busier than usual as the government has announced the day as a permanent national public holiday.

The festival normally begins after the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival and lasts through mid-May and will offer a myriad of cultural activities to visitors throughout the week. Rice-cooking races, bronze drumming, human chess, a rice-cake baking contest, a boat race, wrestling matches, a photography exhibition, water puppet and fashion shows and a fireworks display will also be featured.

According to traditional folklore, the first king of the country was named Kinh Duong, who ruled over a vast territory in the south named Xich Quy (Red Devil).

Kinh Duong married the daughter of Than Long (Sacred Dragon) who was king of Lake Dongding. The couple had a son, Sung Lam, who later became king and called himself Lac Long Quan (King Dragon of the Land of Lac). After the boy grew to become king he took a wife named Au Co. Au Co gave birth to an egg sac, which housed 100 eggs from which 100 babies were eventually born.

One day, Lac Long Quan told his wife "I descend from dragons and you from fairies. We’re as incompatible as water and fire and we cannot continue in harmony." The king parted from his queen, taking to the sea with 50 of his children and his wife moved to the mountains with the remainder.

The eldest son, who was with this mother, established himself at Phong Chau, now known as the south of Phu Tho Province, and he too became king. He was to be the original King Hung I, whose kingdom was comprised of over 50 tribes.

The Hung dynasty saw a further 18 kings claim the throne, ruling the country from 2879 to 258BC.

The day regulated as national holiday from 2007 celebrates and honours the first King's death at the Hung Temple, located on the Nghia Linh Mountain range, 100km northwest of Hanoi in Phong Chau District, Phu Tho Province.