Thousands of visitors flocked to the Phat Tich pagoda in the northernprovince of Bac Ninh for its annual peony festival, held on February22 (the fourth day of the first lunar month).
The Phat Tich pagoda, a special national relic site located just 25kilometres northeast of Hanoi, was built in 1057 on a mountain calledLan Kha during the reign of King Ly Thanh Tong (1054-72). It was reducedto ashes by French colonialists in 1948 and restored in 1987.
During the excavation of the pagoda from 1949-51, archaeologists foundnumerous old stone sculptures carved with flowers and dragons, birdgoddess statues from the 17th century, and a piece engraved with thehead of a fairy, all of which are now on display at the National HistoryMuseum.
A giant Buddha Amitabha statue, 27metres tall and weighing 3,000 tonnes, was installed outside on theLan Kha Mountain in 2010. It was adapted from a similar structurefrom the Ly Dynasty.
The Phat Tich Pagoda isassociated with Tu Thuc’s meeting with a fairy. As the legend goes,there were endless peonies on Lan Kha Mountain and in thepagoda, leading a young woman to visit the pagoda one day to see theflowers. She carelessly broke a tree branch and was fined by the monks,but a local scholar, Tu Thuc, was also visiting the pagoda and offeredhis coat to compensate for the broken branch. They became friends andcontinued to meet at the pagoda. The woman ultimately invited Tu Thuc tovisit her house, leading him to a peony forest and into a cave on themountainside with an imperial palace with high walls and stonefootsteps. She revealed that she was a fairy and they got married.
Every year, people visit the pagoda to take part in the peonyfestival, where they enjoy looking at the flowers, listening to quan ho(love duets) and poem recitations, and playing traditional games. Thefestival usually lasts three days.
The same day,thousands of international and domestic tourists gathered for the DongKy Firecrackers Festival in Tu Son town to enjoy the two giant symbolicfirecrackers and the annual procession.
They also joined in traditional games and enjoyed art performances during the event.
Although the Government banned firecrackers in 1995, the locality haspreserved and upheld the tradition symbolically to ensure itscontinuity.-VNA
The Phat Tich pagoda, a special national relic site located just 25kilometres northeast of Hanoi, was built in 1057 on a mountain calledLan Kha during the reign of King Ly Thanh Tong (1054-72). It was reducedto ashes by French colonialists in 1948 and restored in 1987.
During the excavation of the pagoda from 1949-51, archaeologists foundnumerous old stone sculptures carved with flowers and dragons, birdgoddess statues from the 17th century, and a piece engraved with thehead of a fairy, all of which are now on display at the National HistoryMuseum.
A giant Buddha Amitabha statue, 27metres tall and weighing 3,000 tonnes, was installed outside on theLan Kha Mountain in 2010. It was adapted from a similar structurefrom the Ly Dynasty.
The Phat Tich Pagoda isassociated with Tu Thuc’s meeting with a fairy. As the legend goes,there were endless peonies on Lan Kha Mountain and in thepagoda, leading a young woman to visit the pagoda one day to see theflowers. She carelessly broke a tree branch and was fined by the monks,but a local scholar, Tu Thuc, was also visiting the pagoda and offeredhis coat to compensate for the broken branch. They became friends andcontinued to meet at the pagoda. The woman ultimately invited Tu Thuc tovisit her house, leading him to a peony forest and into a cave on themountainside with an imperial palace with high walls and stonefootsteps. She revealed that she was a fairy and they got married.
Every year, people visit the pagoda to take part in the peonyfestival, where they enjoy looking at the flowers, listening to quan ho(love duets) and poem recitations, and playing traditional games. Thefestival usually lasts three days.
The same day,thousands of international and domestic tourists gathered for the DongKy Firecrackers Festival in Tu Son town to enjoy the two giant symbolicfirecrackers and the annual procession.
They also joined in traditional games and enjoyed art performances during the event.
Although the Government banned firecrackers in 1995, the locality haspreserved and upheld the tradition symbolically to ensure itscontinuity.-VNA
