Thousands of visitors flocked to the Phat Tich pagoda in the northern province of Bac Ninh for a local annual spring festival, held on January 31 (the fourth day of the first lunar month).
The Bell Tower on the Phat Tich mountain (source: VNA)
Bac Ninh (VNA) - Tens of thousands of visitors flocked to Phat Tich pagoda in the northern province of Bac Ninh for a local annual springfestival, held on January 31 (the fourth day of the first lunar month).
Nguyen Thi Hao, Vice Chairwoman of the Tien Du district People’s Committee and head of the organising board, said the locality has taken measures to ensure safety for the festival goers whileprotecting the environment.
The Phat Tich pagoda, a special national relic site locatedjust 25 kilometres northeast of Hanoi, was built in 1057 on a mountain calledLan Kha during the reign of King Ly Thanh Tong (1054-72). It was reduced toashes by French colonialists in 1948 and restored in 1987.
During the excavation of the pagoda from 1949-51,archaeologists found numerous old stone sculptures carved with flowers anddragons, bird goddess statues from the 17th century, and a piece engraved withthe head of a fairy, all of which are now on display at the National HistoryMuseum.
A giant Buddha Amitabha statue, 27 metres tall andweighing 3,000 tonnes, was installed outside on the Lan Kha Mountain in 2010.It was adapted from a similar structure from the Ly Dynasty.
The Phat Tich Pagoda is associated with Tu Thuc’smeeting with a fairy. As the legend goes, there were endless peonies on Lan KhaMountain and in the pagoda, leading a young woman to visit the pagoda one dayto see the flowers. She carelessly broke a tree branch and was fined by themonks, but a local scholar, Tu Thuc, was also visiting the pagoda and offeredhis coat to compensate for the broken branch. They became friends and continuedto meet at the pagoda. The woman ultimately invited Tu Thuc to visit her house,leading him to a peony forest and into a cave on the mountainside with animperial palace with high walls and stone footsteps. She revealed that she wasa fairy and they got married.
Every year, people visit the pagoda to take partin the peony festival, where they enjoy looking at the flowers, listening toquan ho (love duets) and poem recitations, and playing traditional games. Thefestival usually lasts two days.
The pagoda was recognised as a national relic site in 1962and a special national relic site in 2014.-VNA
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The Bell Tower on the Phat Tich mountain (source: VNA) 
