Monks, nuns, and Buddhist followers from the Vietnam Buddhist University (VBU) in Hanoi solemnly hold a grand prayer ceremony for national peace and prosperity. (Photo: VNA)
Monks, nuns, and Buddhist followers from the Vietnam Buddhist University (VBU) in Hanoi solemnly hold a grand prayer ceremony for national peace and prosperity. (Photo: VNA)
Monks, nuns, and Buddhist followers from the Vietnam Buddhist University (VBU) in Hanoi solemnly hold a grand prayer ceremony for national peace and prosperity. (Photo: VNA)
Monks, nuns, and Buddhist followers from the Vietnam Buddhist University (VBU) in Hanoi solemnly hold a grand prayer ceremony for national peace and prosperity. (Photo: VNA)
Monks, nuns, and Buddhist followers from the Vietnam Buddhist University (VBU) in Hanoi solemnly hold a grand prayer ceremony for national peace and prosperity. (Photo: VNA)
At Quan Su Pagoda in Hanoi – the headquarters of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha Central Committee – monks strike the bell and wooden drum in three ceremonial rounds at exactly 6am. (Photo: VNA)
Three rounds of the bell and wooden drum resound at exactly 6am – marking the official start of the two-tier local government model across provinces and cities nationwide. (Photo: VNA)
Grand prayer for national peace, prosperity marks nation’s sacred historic moment
The two-tier local administration model officially came into operation on July 1, with Vietnam now consisting of 34 provinces and cities, and 3,321 communes and wards. Marking this sacred historic moment and celebrating the country's entry into a new era of national advancement, at exactly midnight on July 1, nearly 1,000 monks, nuns, and Buddhist followers from the Vietnam Buddhist University (VBU) in Hanoi solemnly held a grand prayer ceremony for national peace and prosperity.
