Festival in the relic system

The relics and relic clusters in Quang Ninh province are the main spaces for local communities to practice their rich and unique festival heritage.

Procession in the traditional Bach Dang festival.

According to statistics from the Department of Culture and Sports, in the province, there are currently 636 relics/relic clusters, including 8 special national relics, 56 national relics, 101 provincial relics, and 471 unclassified inventory relics. Of which, Quang Yen town has 219 historical and cultural relics, accounting for about 1/3 of the total number of relics in the province. In particular, Quang Yen town has 3 festivals recognized as National Intangible Cultural Heritage, of which 2 are Tien Cong Festival and Bach Dang Festival taking place in relic sites. In addition, there are regional-scale festivals such as: Dai Ky Phuc festivals in 14 communal houses, village pagoda festivals (in 20 pagodas), family feast ceremonies of 23 Tien Cong family temples along with 70 festivals in relics, temples, shrines, communal houses, family temples, etc.

Ha Long City currently has 10 typical festivals such as: Long Tien Pagoda Festival, Ba Men Temple Festival, Tran Quoc Nghien Temple Festival, Dai Ky Phuc Van Yen Communal House Festival, Giang Vong Communal House Festival... most of which take place at relics. To promote the heritage value of festivals, Ha Long City is urgently completing the management of planning relic sites, projects and works related to relic renovation, strengthening state management of activities surrounding festivals and temples. Ha Long City is determined to become a city of flowers and festivals, an attractive destination for tourists in all four seasons.

The Yen Tu, Vinh Nghiem, Con Son - Kiep Bac relic and scenic complex has more than 70 relic sites with 4 special national historical relic clusters, of which Quang Ninh has the Yen Tu relic and scenic area in Uong Bi city and the Tran Kings' temple and tomb relic area in Dong Trieu city. According to Professor Le Hong Ly, Chairman of the Vietnam Folklore Association, based on the space of the Yen Tu range, the folk festivals in this area are not only in the area but also a system of festivals throughout the Yen Tu range, passing through the provinces of Hai Duong, Bac Giang and Quang Ninh.

Particularly in Quang Ninh, related to Yen Tu and Tran Dynasty culture, we can mention festivals such as: An Sinh Temple Festival, festivals of villages along Yen Tu range, Bach Dang Festival, Long Tien Pagoda Festival, Cua Ong Temple Festival, Cai Bau Pagoda Festival. Therefore, folk festivals as well as other types do not stop at one place but spread over a large space and have connections between places to create a very attractive spiritual cultural space. Moreover, these festivals are not just simple religious festivals such as pilgrimage to the land of Buddha but many folk festivals take place around the relics of this area to create an attractive cultural and religious space.

Carrying water to Thai Mieu during the Thai Mieu festival of Tran Dynasty in Dong Trieu.

Another special feature is that most of the festivals mentioned above are closely linked to the marine space, meaning that many festivals are held at relics on the sea and island routes of Quang Ninh. Arousing the potential of the above festivals combined with other heritage values ​​will become endogenous cultural resources and bring a new look, creating strengths in economic development, specifically festival tourism, cultural industry, heritage economy and marine economy. This is an advantage for economic development based on heritage combined with the advantages bestowed by nature. Among them, there is the promotion of the heritage value of festivals in the cultural space of the Northeast sea and island region.

In the first days of the year, the number of tourists flocking to relics and participating in festivals in the province increased dramatically, causing pressure on traffic infrastructure, environmental sanitation, and security and order. Therefore, strengthening the management of relics and festivals is an urgent issue. The Department of Culture - Sports, local authorities and the Relic Management Board have stepped up propaganda so that people who come to worship and practice a civilized lifestyle in relic and festival activities; conducting field inspections and organizing cultural, sports and traditional festival activities. Therefore, festivals are organized in accordance with traditional cultural identity, civilized and orderly, and there are no more offensive images taking place during the festivals.

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/le-hoi-trong-he-thong-di-tich-3343890.html