King of chickens on auction

When talking about Tien Yen, we cannot help but mention chickens. According to legend, Tien Yen chickens are a precious breed, used as offerings to the king and the royal family during feudal times. Tien Yen chickens are also one of the typical delicacies of Vietnam organized by the Vietnam Record Book Center.

To encourage people to raise and preserve native chicken breeds, for many years, Tien Yen has organized contests to find “Chicken King”, “Chicken Queen”, “Chicken Runner-up”. This is a unique contest, becoming a tourist specialty of this mountainous district.

Mr. Phung Van Hieu (right) is the winner of the Chicken King auction.

According to Chairman of Tien Yen District People's Committee Hoang Van Sinh: The contest is more meaningful when 80% of the auction proceeds are used to raise funds to support the elimination of temporary and dilapidated houses for poor households, near-poor households, and vulnerable groups in the district. The remaining 20% ​​will support the team whose chickens successfully participate in the auction to encourage and motivate farming households to continue to preserve and develop the Tien Yen chicken breed.

The atmosphere of the auction was perhaps more exciting because of that. Each "chicken" was brought up: Runner-up Chicken 1, Runner-up Chicken 2, Beautiful Capon, Beautiful Pair of Chickens had their owners one after another. The most exciting part was the auction of Miss Chicken and King Chicken. The first bid for Miss Chicken was 10 million VND and was quickly raised to 30 million VND, 45 million VND.

Mr. Pham Van Mai, Hop Tien One Member Co., Ltd., said resolutely: "I must bring the beauty queen home, so I will pay 50 million VND". The whole area applauded and congratulated Mr. Mai when he really brought the chicken beauty queen home.

When it came to the Chicken King auction, the chatter became even more boisterous. The MC’s voice rang out in invitation: “Bidding on chickens is for luck and fortune. The starting price for the Chicken King is 15 million VND. The 18-month-old Chicken King has long tail feathers and spurs, a wide chest, shiny feathers, and a well-curved beak. This is not just an auction but also a love for people, for our fellow countrymen who are still in difficulty.”

Mr. Ngo Xuan Dieu, a tourist from Xuan Truong (Nam Dinh) enthusiastically participated with a bid of 60 million VND. This number was quickly replaced by a bid of 75 million VND. The Tien Yen chicken king was successfully auctioned at 79,999,999 VND.

Mr. Dieu expressed his regret: "I will definitely come back to auction next year." The person who brought the Chicken King home was Mr. Phung Van Hieu of Thanh Duong Company Limited. Mr. Hieu shared: "The amount of 79,999,999 VND is not much for a collective, but it has great meaning for those who are still in difficulty. I hope to be able to share a part so that the poor can have a better life." This is the second year that Thanh Duong Company Limited has auctioned the Chicken King. Mr. Hieu said: "When I have the Chicken King, I feel more fortunate and excited. The Chicken King will be well cared for, raised and continue to be bred to preserve the rare gene source."

A place connecting the ethnic colors of the Northeast region

Tien Yen is an ancient town, at the confluence of two small rivers: one from Dinh Lap (Lang Son) and one from Binh Lieu (Quang Ninh). This place still retains many historical traces with works of Vietnamese, French, and Chinese architecture. Tien Yen is also a convergence point, a cultural exchange of ethnic groups, where the Kinh, Dao, Tay, Nung, San Diu, San Chi... ethnic communities live, creating a unique cultural feature of the entire Northeast region of Vietnam in general, Quang Ninh in particular.

Performing arts at the opening ceremony of the Culture and Sports Week of ethnic groups in the Northeast region.

Mr. Hoang Van Sinh said: “In 2015, Quang Ninh province built the Northeast Ethnic Culture and Sports Center to display and introduce the cultures of ethnic groups. After that, the Northeast Ethnic Culture and Sports Week was held annually as an invitation to all people and tourists to Tien Yen. Through each organization, the event received enthusiastic support and participation from districts and towns of Cao Bang, Lang Son, Bac Giang...

To organize this event well, the government and people of Tien Yen have together preserved and promoted the thousand-year-old cultural values ​​of the ethnic communities here, combined with education on a cohesive and friendly lifestyle, spreading the beauty of the ethnic groups in the mountainous areas of Tien Yen.

The Culture and Sports Week of the Northeast Ethnic Groups has many activities with the participation of almost all ethnic communities in Tien Yen and neighboring localities, such as: Tien Yen chicken culinary competition; street food festival; street art festival; OCOP fair combined with trade; Quang Ninh province's ethnic cultural festival; Quang Ninh province's ethnic sports competition; traditional boat racing...

As a member of one of the 12 male and female teams participating in the Tien Yen District Traditional Boat Racing Tournament, after completing the 1,000m race, Mr. Tran Xuan Viet (Tien Yen Town, Tien Yen District) happily said: "This year, the competitive spirit and determination to win the prize of the teams are very high. For me, the race helps to lift my spirits and make me more productive." In the crowded crowd, Ms. Dang Thanh Mai (Lang Son) said that she will return to Tien Yen because this time she could not attend all the activities of this meaningful week.

Article and photos: THANH BINH

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