Mong Cai: Exciting festival activities

In the early days of spring At Ty 2025, Mong Cai is truly an attractive destination not only for its unique tourism products but also for its cultural and spiritual destinations and spring festival activities.

Procession of gods at Van Ninh Communal House Festival in 2025.

On the spring travel journey in the first days of the new spring, thousands of Buddhists, people and tourists came to burn incense, worship Buddha, and pray for peace at sacred places: Xa Tac Temple - Pagoda, Tra Co communal house, Linh Son Pagoda, Xuan Lan Pagoda, etc. Going to the pagoda, in addition to praying for peace and good luck, is also an opportunity for tourists to enjoy spring, visit historical sites, and sacred pagodas at the headland of the Fatherland.

Located on the banks of the Ka Long River, Xa Tac Temple - Pagoda is one of the typical spiritual tourist destinations of Mong Cai City. The temple has an important significance in affirming sovereignty over the national border, marking the historical mark where our ancestors pacified the border and affirming the characteristics of the cultural life of the Vietnamese people. After many historical ups and downs, in 2020, Xa Tac Temple was recognized as a national heritage, an everlasting cultural "milestone" in the northeastern tip of the Fatherland.

Folk games at the Van Ninh Communal House Festival in 2025 attracted a large number of people and tourists.

Tra Co Communal House, built in the 17th century, located in Nam Tho area, Tra Co ward, is one of the 15 attractive tourist destinations of Mong Cai city. With its unique historical, cultural and architectural values, Tra Co Communal House has been ranked as a special national monument according to Decision No. 1225/QD-TTg dated October 24, 2023 of the Prime Minister. The preservation and promotion of the value of Tra Co Communal House associated with the development of tourist destinations has been shaped, affirming the brand and destination of Tra Co Communal House on the tourist map of Mong Cai city, Quang Ninh province. Every year, Tra Co Communal House attracts tens of thousands of visitors to visit and worship.

Along with spring travel and sightseeing at the beginning of the new year at spiritual destinations, spring festival activities in Mong Cai also attract a large number of people and tourists: Xa Tac Temple Festival; Van Ninh Communal House Festival; Dan Tien Communal House Festival; Quat Dong Communal House Festival... with unique cultural features in the cultural and religious activities of the local people.

Along with Van Ninh communal house relic, Van Ninh communal house festival is a traditional festival, full of cultural and religious characteristics, symbolizing Vietnamese culture at the frontier of the Fatherland. Van Ninh communal house traditional festival is held from January 10 to 11 every year. The festival takes place solemnly, dignifiedly, and orderly with the ceremony including activities such as: Proclamation ceremony, procession of gods, sacrifice ceremony... and the festival with many rich activities including: Hat nha to - singing, communal house door dancing, antiphonal singing, games of blindfolded duck catching, pot smashing, soccer, tug of war... Van Ninh communal house festival was decided by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to be included in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage in November 2023.

People offer incense at Xa Tac Temple in early spring. Photo: Thu Hang, Mong Cai Center for Communication and Culture

Currently, Mong Cai City has 1 special national relic, 4 national relics, 12 provincial historical relics out of a total of 59 historical, cultural and scenic relics in Mong Cai. In addition, Mong Cai also has 40 intangible cultural heritages that have been inventoried and classified, of which 3 intangible cultural heritages have been included in the list of national intangible cultural heritages, including: Tra Co communal house traditional festival; Hat nha to - hat dan cua dinh; Van Ninh communal house traditional festival. These are eternal "cultural milestones", contributing to affirming national territorial sovereignty and are especially valuable tourism resources that create unique tourism products, attracting visitors, especially during the spring festival.

According to statistics, since the beginning of the year, there have been more than 260,000 visitors to Mong Cai. Since the beginning of the At Ty spring, there have been more than 120,000 visitors to Mong Cai to enjoy spring and participate in the early year festivals.

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/mong-cai-soi-noi-cac-hoat-dong-le-hoi-3343709.html