It has become a tradition that on the death anniversary of the Hung Kings, Vietnamese people both at home and abroad turn their hearts to the ancestral land of Viet Tri, Phu Tho to pay tribute to their nation’s founders. At this year’s festival, the palanquin procession and incense-offering rite took place solemnly at Kinh Thien Palace on Nghia Linh Mountain in Co Tich Village, Hy Cuong Commune.

At 7:00am on March 31, 2012 (March 3 of the lunar calendar), the incense-offering rite was carried out at the central yard of the festival, the Lower Temple, the Middle Temple and the Upper Temple on Nghia Linh Mountain with the participation of the leaders of the Party, State and representatives of Phu Tho Province and many other provinces and cities nationwide.
 

Leading the procession were soldiers of the honour guard of the Vietnam People’s Army who carried the national flag, festival flags and a wreath. They were followed by 14 girls carrying on their heads incenses, flowers and offerings like Banh chung (square glutinous rice cake) and Banh giay (round glutinous rice cake), and 100 boys carrying the festival flags that symbolized the image of the children of the nation’s legendary father and mother Lac Long Quan and Au Co returning to their ancestral land.

After the palanquin procession, the delegation gathered in front of the Upper Temple to prepare for the offering rite. In a sacred and solemn atmosphere, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung, Chairman of Vietnam Fatherland Front, Huynh Dam and representatives of Phu Tho Province respectfully offered flowers, offerings and incenses to commemorate the Hung Kings. In his speech, Hoang Dan Mac, Chairman of Phu Tho Province’s People Committee and Head of the Hung Kings’ Death Anniversary 2012, praised the merits of the Hung Kings and affirmed it is a national celebration and festival. He said that the festival was a chance to encourage a patriotic spirit and promote national solidarity.

Besides the incense-offering rite at the Upper Temple, the delegation offered incense at the Gieng Temple at the foot of Nghia Linh Mountain and offered flowers at the bas-relief engraved image of Uncle Ho who was talking with cadres and soldiers from the Vanguard Brigade at Gieng Temple’s yard. 
 

Two days earlier, on March 29 (March 8 of the lunar calendar) people in six communes in Phu Tho Province, including Hung Lo, Chu Hoa, Tien Kien, Hy Cuong, Kim Duc, Van Phu held a palanquin procession to Hung Kings' temple as part of celebrations of the death anniversary of Hung Kings. It is one of the traditional rites that has been preserved for thousands of years, showing community connectivity and cultural exchange.

Apart from the rituals, the festival also included many cultural activities such as Xoan singing, a World Intangible Cultural Heritage, and folk games, namely chess playing and beating bronze drums.

According to the statistics of Phu Tho Province People’s Committee, this year’s festival attracted about six million visitors, an increase of nearly one million people over 2011. It reflects that the Hung Kings veneration ritual has a strong vitality in the community of Vietnamese people both at home and abroad.