Opening of Thanh Ban Phu Festival in Dien Bien

Attending the opening ceremony were Secretary of Dien Bien Provincial Party Committee Tran Quoc Cuong and provincial leaders, delegations from Phon Thoong and Muong May districts (Phong Sa Ly province, Lao PDR); delegations from Hoa Binh, Bac Giang, Thai Binh provinces and descendants of Hoang Cong Chat and many ethnic people in the area.

The Ban Phu Citadel Festival in 2025 is one of the practical activities to celebrate the 271st anniversary of the victory of Hoang Cong Chat's army in liberating Muong Thanh (1754 - 2025); commemorate the 256th anniversary of the death of General Hoang Cong Chat (1769 - 2025); and the 71st anniversary of the historic Dien Bien Phu Victory.

Ritual of sacrifice in Thanh Ban Phu festival

Ban Phu Citadel Festival is an annual activity held on the 24th and 25th of the second lunar month every year, to commemorate the merits of General Hoang Cong Chat, Generals Lo Ngai, Lo Khanh and the insurgents. At the same time, it educates the tradition of patriotism, solidarity, national pride; contributes to promoting and developing tourism, economy - society of Dien Bien district in particular, Dien Bien province in general.

The 2025 Ban Phu Citadel Festival is organized in two parts: the ceremony and the festival. The opening of the festival is performances imbued with traditional cultural identity such as: Dragon dance, festival drum performance. The ceremony takes place with sacred rituals including: palanquin procession, incense offering, reading of congratulatory messages and the "Remembering the merits of General Hoang Cong Chat" ceremony.

General Hoang Cong Chat's real name was Hoang Cong Thu, from Vu Thu district, Thai Binh province. To have a long-term base of operations, General Hoang Cong Chat built Ban Phu Citadel. The peasant uprising led by Hoang Cong Chat lasted for 30 years (1739-1769). Hoang Cong Chat gathered the people of all ethnic groups in Hung Hoa (Northwest) into a unified bloc, building solidarity between the upstream and downstream regions to fight together to defend the country and protect the mountains and forests of the Fatherland's border areas.

Mr. Nguyen Thai Binh, Chairman of Dien Bien District People's Committee, said: Thanh Ban Phu Festival is a religious activity with long-standing folk cultural rituals, aiming to promote and maintain the cultural quintessence of ethnic groups in the district. The festival is an opportunity for people and ethnic groups inside and outside Dien Bien district to exchange and learn from each other.

This is also an opportunity to promote the cultural identity, folk arts and the potential to attract and develop tourism of the district as well as Dien Bien province. At the same time, Thanh Ban Phu festival aims to honor and introduce to visitors from all over the world the ritual of worshipping and offering incense to the hero Hoang Cong Chat.

MAI AN