Chau Doc is ready for pilgrimage season

From January to the end of April (lunar calendar) every year, Chau Doc city (An Giang province) enters the biggest tourist season of the year.

To better serve the sightseeing and entertainment needs of tourists, Chau Doc city is ready for the 2024 pilgrimage season.

Tượng Bà Chúa Xứ núi Sam trong chính điện. (Ảnh: Phương Nghi)

Statue of Lady of Sam Mountain in the main hall. (Photo: Phuong Nghi)

The Ba Chua Xu Festival on Sam Mountain is the longest festival in the country (from the beginning of January to the end of April of the lunar calendar every year). The main festival takes place from the 19th to the 27th of April of the lunar calendar, attracting millions of visitors to visit, relax and worship.

As a traditional festival preserved and practiced for many generations in Chau Doc, on December 19, 2014, the Ba Chua Xu Sam Mountain Festival was included in the list of national intangible cultural heritage under the category of traditional festivals by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Ba Chua Xu Temple in Sam Mountain is one of the famous spiritual tourist destinations, attracting a large number of pilgrims from all over the country. These days, Ba Chua Xu Temple in Sam Mountain is always bustling and crowded, people and vehicles move little by little. The flow of vehicles to the Sam Mountain area are mostly pilgrims from neighboring provinces coming to pay their respects and pray for good luck at the beginning of the year.

The area in front of the main hall is where offerings are made to pay respect to the Lady, with all kinds of fruits, rice, salt, roasted pork, incense, betel, areca nuts, crowns... solemnly displayed on tables along with fragrant lilies, lilies, and chrysanthemums. Depending on each person's ability, pilgrims make offerings to the Lady. Sometimes it's just a bundle of incense, while those who can afford it offer roasted pork, crowns, gold bells, cash...

The procession carries the statue of Ba Chua Xu from the top of Sam mountain down to the temple at the Ba Chua Xu Festival. (Photo: Phuong Nghi)

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hoang (in Ho Chi Minh City) was in Chau Doc early in the morning. He confided: “Every year at the beginning of the second lunar month, my family visits Ba Chua Xu on Sam Mountain to “pay tribute” and pray for a peaceful year, good business. Every year I don’t visit her, I feel uneasy and regretful. Therefore, no matter how busy I am, I try to go to An Giang. If I have time, I go to worship Buddha at the famous pagodas in the Bay Nui area and visit the peaceful scenery there. Every time I light an incense stick to Ba Chua Xu, I feel light-hearted and confident for the long journey in the new year."

No less crowded and overloaded is the free lucky money distribution area (on the right side of the main hall). Almost all pilgrims come here after offering incense and praying to ask for lucky money. Although sweat is pouring down their faces, everyone is still cheerful when receiving the red lucky money.

Head of the Sam Mountain Mausoleum Management Board, Mr. Nguyen Phuc Hoan, said that the common mentality of people who come to worship her is to pray for a peaceful new year, a prosperous business, a healthy, prosperous and happy family. Therefore, the number of pilgrims next year is higher than the previous year. After worshiping her, visitors will go to burn incense at Thoai Ngoc Hau Mausoleum, Tay An Pagoda... - famous tourist attractions in the Sam Mountain relic complex.

“Currently, the number of visitors to visit the Lady has increased quite a lot, an average of 30,000 - 40,000 people/day and can increase to more than 80,000 people/day on weekends. Therefore, we have increased security and order and regularly broadcast warnings to visitors, helping pilgrims feel more secure; cleaning the landscape and environment to serve visitors...”, Mr. Hoan said.

Unique architecture in Tay An ancient temple. (Photo: Phuong Nghi)

The first destination not to be missed is Sam Mountain tourist area, not only an ideal place for pilgrimage tours, but also a place where you can enjoy the fresh air of Sam Mountain at an altitude of nearly 300m. On the top of Sam Mountain, there is a sandstone pedestal where the statue of Ba Chua Xu was placed in the past. Here, visitors can see the whole view of Chau Doc city and Vinh Te canal. At the foot of Sam Mountain, there is Tay An Pagoda (also known as Tay An Co Tu). In 1980, the pagoda was ranked as a "national architectural and artistic" relic by the Ministry of Culture - Information (now the Ministry of Culture - Sports and Tourism).

50m from Ba Chua Xu Temple on Sam Mountain is Thoai Ngoc Hau Tomb, with its unique ancient architecture that both bears a strong spiritual imprint and preserves many legends associated with heroic figures during the time of land reclamation.

Leaving the mausoleum, visitors come to Hang Pagoda (also known as Phuoc Dien Pagoda) to see the whole city. The unique feature of the pagoda is not only its ancient architecture, but also its standing position. The pagoda is divided into many floors along the open-air bridge, as if "hanging" on the cliff.

Next, one of the pagodas that attracts a large number of tourists and locals is Bo De Pagoda, also known as “Bodh Gaya (Chau Doc)”. This is a precious spiritual tourist destination in Vietnam, because the pagoda is one of the pagodas in the world that has up to 3 Buddhist relics.

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