“Green transformation” at festivals in Lao Cai

Positive changes

With hundreds of large and small festivals held every year, ensuring environmental sanitation is always a problem for Lao Cai province, because this is not only an environmental issue but also a culture of participating in festivals.

For many years now, most temples and pagodas in Lao Cai province have had many changes in improving the civilization of places of worship, making the space clean and tidy, people going to worship more civilized, and relic managers are always on duty to guide people to worship according to regulations.

Thuong Temple in Lao Cai City, one of the famous temples worshiping Saint Tran Tu, every year on the full moon day of the first lunar month, Lao Cai City and the people hold a festival to commemorate the great merit of Saint Tran in helping people fight the enemy and protect the country. The annual Thuong Temple festival attracts thousands of people to participate in worship.

Every year, Lao Cai holds hundreds of large and small festivals, so the issue of environmental protection before, during and after the festival is of special concern to Lao Cai provincial authorities.

To facilitate the people and visitors from all over to worship, the Management Board of the Thuong Temple relic site has cleaned the temple grounds. The inner temple area is neatly arranged, and the donation money is placed in the right place. During busy times, the Management Board also arranges people to collect offerings and oil money to ensure there is no mess. People coming to worship are guided on the regulations when they arrive, people must follow them solemnly, limit the burning of votive paper, incense, and dress politely. In particular, in the temple grounds, there are trash sorting bins for visitors and people to throw away and sort trash right at the source.

It can be seen that the organization of the Thuong Temple festival has a good traditional educational value and ensures safety. The activities at the festival promote the national cultural identity, create a good impression for the people and tourists, and at the same time protect the environment and landscape.

Bao Ha temple grounds are always green - clean - beautiful, bringing a sense of relaxation to people and tourists every time they come to visit and worship.

Bao Yen district is one of the districts with many festivals in Lao Cai province. Recently, Bao Yen has organized a series of traditional festivals such as Bao Ha temple festival, Nghia Do temple festival, Phuc Khanh temple festival associated with community tourism activities with unique cultural identity.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Khanh, a tourist from Hanoi, said he was very impressed with the large number of people visiting Bao Ha Temple, and the management board of Bao Ha Temple always reminded people to keep the environment clean through loudspeakers. Every person visiting the temple is reminded to throw trash in the right place. The temple has burned incense, so visitors and people are asked not to burn incense, maintain a civilized lifestyle, and protect the environment when visiting the temple. The management board also arranges security guards to clean the temple twice a day, ensuring security in the temple area.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hung, Chairman of Bao Ha Commune People's Committee, said that in recent times, Bao Ha Commune has implemented many drastic solutions to make Bao Ha truly clean, beautiful and safe in the eyes of local people and tourists when they come to the locality for tourism and worship.

Central leaders and Lao Cai provincial leaders planted trees at the Bao Ha Temple Festival 2023.

“On normal days, the commune and the relic site management board arrange people to clean the temple grounds. Especially on the occasion of the traditional festival taking place on the 17th of the 7th lunar month, a month before, we have a meeting to issue documents related to ensuring safety and environmental protection, placing more garbage collectors, sending people to propagate on the move… During the festival, we arrange cleaning forces to remind people, and the police force protecting the festival will automatically pick up and throw garbage in the designated place if they see it. Thanks to these specific and practical actions, the environmental protection of the Bao Ha Temple Festival in particular and other cultural activities has been carried out and the environmental protection work has been improved,” said Mr. Hung.

Raising people's awareness of environmental protection

Besides the positive changes, at some relics and festivals in Lao Cai, there are still many shortcomings that need to be thoroughly resolved. Therefore, each citizen needs to raise their awareness of environmental protection at tourist sites and festivals.

Mr. Duong Tuan Nghia, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Lao Cai province, said that festivals in Lao Cai are mainly folk festivals associated with each ethnic group and each locality, expressing the customs, habits and traditional beliefs of each ethnic group. Therefore, festivals are often small in scale and are held periodically. To raise awareness of festival participants, the Department has annually sent documents to localities to strengthen the dissemination of the Law on Environmental Protection.

Environmental protection is always a top concern at traditional and modern festivals in Lao Cai.

Accordingly, organizations and individuals coming to relic sites, historical sites, tourist areas, tourist attractions, tourist accommodation establishments, festival venues... must comply with regulations and rules on hygiene and environmental protection; dispose of waste in designated places; limit the generation of plastic waste; maintain public hygiene; and not harm the landscape, environment and living species.

The Department and localities guide tourist areas, historical and cultural relics, festival venues, accommodation establishments and restaurants to collect and classify waste, especially plastic waste, packaging, nylon bags and transport them to recycling and treatment sites according to regulations; Strengthen inspection of environmental protection work before, during and after the festival period.

Every year, Lao Cai welcomes thousands of domestic and international tourists to visit and worship at historical sites such as Bao Ha Temple, Thuong Temple...

Wards, communes and villages where festivals take place should step up propaganda and education on environmental protection; mobilize people to actively participate in environmental sanitation activities, creating clean and green landscapes on roads and festival areas before, during and after the festival.

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