The Keo Pagoda Festival was recognised as national intangible cultural heritage in 2017 by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.

The festival is held annually from the 10th to the 15th day of the ninth lunar month to honour Zen Master Khong Lo (1016-1094) – founder of the Keo Pagoda.

Just over 130km from the capital, Hanoi, Keo Pagoda, which was originally built during the Ly Dynasty and reconstructed in 1632, is an ancient building with 128 rooms - more than any other pagoda in Vietnam.

It features religious rituals and communal activities, such as Buddhist offerings, palanquin parades, love duet singing on boats, and folk games.

In addition to traditional religious rituals commemorating the Ly Dynasty Buddhist monk, the festival also hosts a variety of cultural activities that reflect the lifestyle of the Red River Delta’s agricultural communities.

Many folk activities, such as racing shells, trumpets and drums, a performance of a traditional dance, and the preparation of “phoenix-winged” betel quids, are being organising at the festival.

This year’s festival will run until October 31 and is considered an opportunity to showcase the landscapes and people of Thai Binh while helping to promote the province’s cultural and socio-economic development.

Bai Dinh Pagoda Festival opens in Ninh Binh

The Bai Dinh Pagoda Festival kicked off in Gia Vien district of the northern mountainous province of Ninh Binh on January 30, the sixth day of the Lunar New Year.

Bo Da pagoda recognized as provincial tourism site

(BGO) – The People’s Committee in Viet Yen district, Bac Giang province on January 29 (lunar January 5) organized a ceremony to open the exhibition and display of the Woodblock in Bo Da pagoda and announce the decision from the provincial People’s Committee to recognize the pagoda as the provincial tourism site.  

Bo Da Pagoda’s woodblocks on display in Bac Giang

Carved woodblocks bearing the Sutras of Zen Buddhism at Bo Da Pagoda in Viet Yen district, the northern province of Bac Giang are being showcased at an exhibition that opened in the pagoda on Jan 29.

Centuries-old Bo Da pagoda stuns pilgrims

The hundreds-year-old Bo Da Pagoda in the northern province of Bac Giang is rich in historical and cultural values.

Old pagoda on Tay Yen Tu mountainside

(BGO)- There is an old pagoda named Am Vai in Nam Duong commune, Luc Ngan district, a Buddhism building included in the tower pagoda systems of Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen Sect. 

Source: NDO