Phu Tho(VNA) – The Hung Kings Temple historical relic site in Viet Tri city, thenorthern midland province of Phu Tho, welcomed over 7 million visitors duringthe Hung Kings Temple Festival from April 5-14.

The figure was provided by the organizing board of the Hung Kings TempleFestival.

On April 14, anincense offering ceremony was held in the province  Phu Tho to commemorate the death anniversaryof Hung Kings, the legendary founders of the nation.

The death anniversary of Hung Kings has long been considered a significant dayof the whole nation, illustrating the spirit of solidarity and tradition “whendrinking water, remember its sources”.

Phu Tho along withthe Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, the central province of Nghe An, and thenorthern province of Son La representing different regions across the countryhas actively carried out plans in celebration of the death anniversary of HungKings and Hung Kings Temple Festival in 2019.

Various kinds ofactivities have been taking place during the day such as palanquin processions,contests to make “Banh Chung” (square glutinous rice cake) and “Banh Day”(white, flat, and round glutinous rice cake) – which were created by the 18thprince of Hung King some 3,000-4,000 years ago – symbolysing the “earth” andthe “sky”, respectively, and art and cultural programmes.

Legend has it thatLac Long Quan (real name Sung Lam, son of Kinh Duong Vuong and Than Long Nu)married Au Co (the fairy daughter of De Lai). Au Co then went on to give birthto a pouch filled with one hundred eggs, which soon hatched into a hundredsons, believed to be Vietnam’s ancestors. However, soon thereafter, Lac LongQuan and Au Co separated. Lac Long Quan went to the coast with 50 of the children,while Au Co went to the highlands with the rest.

Their eldest son wasmade king, who named the country Van Lang and set up the capital in Phong Chau(nowadays Viet Tri city, Phu Tho province), beginning the 18 dynasties of theHung Kings.

The kings choseNghia Linh Mountain, the highest in the region, to perform rituals devoted torice and sun deities to pray for healthy crops.

To honour theirgreat contributions, a complex of temples dedicated to them was built on NghiaLinh Mountain, and the tenth day of the third lunar month serves as thenational commemorative anniversary for the kings.

The worshippingrituals of the Hung Kings was recognised as a UNESCO Intangible CulturalHeritage of Humanity in 2012.-VNA