Ninh Binh – Is a locality with many special festivals that attract tourists, especially at the beginning of the new year. Visitors to Ninh Binh can not only immerse themselves in the beautiful natural scenery but also experience the ancient and traditional space of festivals.

Hoa Lu Festival

Hoa Lu Festival is the largest festival in Ninh Binh province and was recognized as a national traditional festival in 2015. The festival takes place every year from the 8th to the 10th day of the third lunar month, in Truong Yen commune, district. Hoa Lu. The festival is held to commemorate the great merits of King Dinh Tien Hoang and King Le Dai Hanh.

More than 1,000 years ago, after defeating and conquering 12 warlords, Dinh Bo Linh ascended the throne to take the title of Dinh Tien Hoang and chose Hoa Lu as the capital of Dai Co Viet, establishing a centralized feudal state. the first right of our country.

The ceremony consists of two solemn ceremonies, the water procession and the sacrifice ceremony. In addition, attending the festival, visitors can also participate in the activities of the festival with folk games such as: human chess, boat racing, tug of war, cock fighting, flying swing, and sports competitions. …

Festival of Saint Nguyen Temple 

The festival of Thanh Nguyen Temple takes place from the 8th to the 10th day of the third lunar month every year. In the main ceremony, there is the custom of carrying water from the Hoang Long River to the temple; Luc Luc festival, male mandarin sacrifice, female mandarin… part of the festival organized folk games of tug of war, 32-piece chess, cock fighting, volleyball and football competitions. 

The festival is held to remember the merits of Saint Nguyen Minh Khong, who was conferred by the Ly court as Ly Quoc Su (the high priest who held the position of head of the Ly dynasty in Vietnamese history). He made great contributions to the treatment of King Ly and the people. In addition, he also had merit in learning techniques of burning and mixing copper to revive bronze casting – the quintessence of Dong Son civilization – ancient Vietnamese civilization.

He was honored by the people as Saint Nguyen. The Temple of Saint Nguyen is an ancient temple in Diem village, ancient Trang An palace (now belonging to two communes Gia Thang, Gia Tien, Gia Vien district, Ninh Binh).

Thai Vi Temple Festival: The festival takes place from March 14 to 16 of the lunar calendar every year. This is an opportunity for local people and the whole country to remember the merits of the Tran kings – who made great contributions to the people and the country. The festival consists of two parts: The ceremony includes the procession and sacrifice. The festival organizes folk games such as dragon dance, human chess, wrestling, boating…

The festival is a form of community activities, expressing religious beliefs, reflecting the people’s dreams and aspirations, bearing the traditional beauty of “drinking water, remembering the source” of the nation. it is a mirror reflecting the cultural and spiritual life of each region… Therefore, each time attending a festival is a chance to live with the cultural identity of their nation.

Trang An Festival: The festival is held on March 18-19 (lunar calendar) every year at Trang An World Heritage site. A special feature of the festival is that all rituals take place on the river. The rituals of water procession, palanquin and dragon procession show the principle of “drinking water, remember the source”, expressing gratitude to Saint Quy Minh Dai Vuong and also an opportunity to pray for favorable weather and good crops. Attending Trang An festival, visitors will enjoy the amazing beauty of a World Heritage site.

Modern life has many things that dominate and attract people, however, coming to Ninh Binh – a land of geniuses, visitors should not miss the opportunity to attend the above great festivals. It will be an interesting experience to discover the land and people of Ninh Binh.