State President Vo Van Thuong, central and local officials, along with thousands of people offered incense in commemoration of the Hung Kings, the legendary founders of Vietnam, at the Hung Kings Temple in the northern province of Phu Tho on April 29 (the 10th day of the third lunar month).

The ceremony was held at Kinh Thien Palace on Nghia Linh Mountain, part of the special national historical relic site of the Hung Kings Temple.

Reading the eulogy, Chairman of the Phu Tho People’s Committee Bui Van Quang expressed the Vietnamese people’s deep gratitude to the Hung Kings, who established Van Lang – the first state in Vietnam’s history, and other ancestors who defended the country. He also reported on the country’s enormous achievements in reforms, integration, and development.

After that, Party and State leaders offered incense at the Tomb of Hung Kings and laid wreaths at a sculpted relief depicting then President Ho Chi Minh talking to officers and soldiers of the Tien Phong Division at the Gieng Temple on September 19, 1954, where he said: “The Hung Kings established the country, we must together safeguard it.”

On this occasion, the provinces and cities housing temples dedicated to the Hung Kings and generals from the kings’ era also held ceremonies to commemorate the legendary founders of Vietnam.

Legend has it that Lac Long Quan (real name Sung Lam, son of Kinh Duong Vuong and Than Long Nu) married Au Co (the fairy daughter of De Lai). Au Co then gave birth to a pouch filled with 100 eggs, which hatched into a hundred sons. However, soon thereafter, Lac Long Quan and Au Co separated. Lac Long Quan went to the coast with 50 of the children, while Au Co went to the highlands with the rest.

Their eldest son was made king, who named the country Van Lang and set up the capital in Phong Chau (modern-day Viet Tri city in Phu Tho province), beginning the 18 reigns of the Hung Kings.

The kings chose Nghia Linh Mountain, the highest in the region, to perform rituals devoted to rice and sun deities to pray for bumper crops.

To honor their great contributions, a complex of temples dedicated to them was built on Nghia Linh Mountain, and the 10th day of the third lunar month serves as the national commemorative anniversary for the kings.

The worship of the Hung Kings, closely related to the ancestral worship traditions of most Vietnamese families, was recognized as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2012./.