Thousands of visitors flocked to Phat Tich Pagoda in the northern province of Bac Ninh for the annual peony festival, one of the popular spring festivals in the Red River Delta.

Thousands of visitors flocked to Phat Tich Pagoda in the northern province of Bac Ninh for the annual peony festival.

Phat Tich Pagoda, just 25km north-east of the capital city of Hanoi, was built on Lan Kha Mountain in 1057 during the reign of King Ly Thanh Tong (1054-72). It was reduced to ashes by French colonialists in 1948 and later restored in 1987.

Phat Tich Pagoda is associated with the legend of Tu Thuc Meeting a Fairy. In the old days, there were a lot of peonies on Lan Kha Mountain and in the pagoda.

One day, a young woman visited the pagoda to see the flowers. She carelessly broke a branch from a tree and was fined by the monks. Lucky for her, a local scholar Tu Thuc also visited the pagoda and took off his coat to compensate for the broken branch. They became friends and often met at the pagoda.

The woman invited Tu Thuc to visit her house. She took him to a peony forest and a cave on the mountainside. Upon entering, he saw an imperial palace with high walls and stone footsteps. She revealed that she was a fairy, and they got married.

Every year, people visit the pagoda to take part in the peony festival, where they enjoy watching the flowers, listening to quan ho (love duets) and poem recitations while playing traditional games. The festival usually lasts three days.

Meanwhile, the Dong Ky firecracker procession festival was also held in Tu Son City in the northern province of Bac Ninh on February 1, the fourth day of the first lunar month, attracting thousands of villagers and tourists.

The festival takes place each year from the fourth to the sixth days of the first lunar month to mark the new spring. Participants believe that joining in the festival will bring them good luck.

Within the procession, each cracker is alternately carried by around 100 men aged 35 to 50 from the traditional cultural house to the ground of the communal house.

Thousands of people participate in the procession, which lasts for roughly two hours.

The festival was recognised as a national intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism in 2016.

* On the afternoon of February 1, the People's Committee of Tuyen Quang City, Tuyen Quang Province, hosted a traditional boat race festival on Lo River an annual event held in spring. The festival attracted thousands of locals and tourists, contributing to creating the cultural identity of the land and people of Tuyen.

The boat racing festival on Lo River illustrated the people of Tuyen Quang’s sportsmanship and aspiration to conquer the rivers. It also helps to tighten solidarity in the community and creates a highlight for local tourism in recent years.

After fierce competitions under the enthusiastic cheers of the audience, the team of Minh Xuan Ward finished first, followed by the teams from Thai Long Commune and Doi Can Ward.

* The Keo Pagoda - Spring Festival opened on February 1 (the fourth day of Lunar New Year) at the Keo Pagoda special national relic site in Thai Binh Province.

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

It featured 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 hosted a variety of cultural activities, that reflect the lifestyle of the Red River Delta’s agricultural communities.