Phu Tho preserves Hung King worship rituals
The northern mountainous province of Phu Tho aims to work closely with relevant ministries and sectors to accelerate the national programme on preserving and promoting the Hung Kings’ worship-related culture, according to the Provincial People’s Committee Vice Chairman Ha Ke San.
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Under the programme, the province has encouraged full participation from the community in conserving and upholding the spiritual heritage, while enhancing the capability of staff involved in the management of the traditional legacy, San said.
A wide variety of tourism packages and routes have been developed in close link with the Hung Kings’ worship culture and sites across the nation.
According to Director of the management board of the Hung Kings Temple Relic Site Luu Quang Huy, over the years, numerous measures have been deployed to ensure a safe and sound environment for the Hung Kings Temple festival.
In 2004, the Prime Minister approved the Plan for Developing the Hung Kings Temple Relic Site in Phu Tho province through to 2015.
Accordingly, upgrades were made to all temples, pagodas, towers, the Hung Kings tombs and forests over an area of of 32 hectares.
Alongside this, the project also built numerous facilities including ritual practicing sites, halls and guest receiving zones; surrounding tourism areas were also developed, such as a Hung Kings cultural village, and ecotourism villages.
Over the past six years, more than VND700 billion (US$31.5 million) has been mobilised to building and maintain the facilities in the Complex.
The amount was used to enlarge the Thuong (Upper), Trung (Middle) and Ha (Lower) Temples ’ courts, upgrade the road system to Nghia Linh Mountain, embellish Thien Quang Pagoda, and preserve and develop the Hung Kings Temple national park.
Re-construction work has been carried out on the Temples dedicated to worshipping the nation's legendary father and mother, Lac Long Quan and Au Co.
The Prime Minister has also recently approved a master plan on upgrading and embellishing the Hung Kings Temple complex till 2025.
Hung Kings are the ancient Vietnamese rulers of Van Lang Kingdom in the Hong Bang period (2879–258 BC).
According to Vietnamese legend, the 18 Hung Kings ruled during the first period of Vietnamese history, from 2879-258 BC.
The Hung Kings Festival is held annually from the eighth to the eleventh days of the third lunar month.
To honour their great history, a 1,030 hectare complex of temples dedicated to them was built on Nghia Linh Mountain , and the tenth day of the third lunar month serves as the national commemorative anniversary for the kings.
There are 1,417 sites dedicated to worshipping the Hung Kings and the related figures in their era across the nation, including 326 sites in Phu Tho province.
The worshipping ritual of the Hung Kings is closely related to the ancestor worshipping traditions in most Vietnamese families, which forms an important part of people's spiritual lives.
It was recognised by UNESCO as part of the World Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2012.
