Dinh Thay Thim Cultural - Tourism Festival
The Dinh Thay Thim Cultural - Tourism Festival 2025 will take place from November 3-5 in Tan Hai commune (Lam Dong province). The festival with many unique rituals and activities will attract visitors from all over to come and pay homage to the merits of Thay and Thim.
Dinh Thay Thim was built more than 130 years ago, in 1879, in the middle of the ancient Bau Cai forest (now in Tan Hai commune). This place preserves the touching legend of the virtuous couple Thay and Thim, who devoted themselves to helping the villagers, teaching them a trade, treating illnesses, and helping fishermen overcome the storms of life. When they passed away, the people built a temple to worship them, to express their gratitude and honor their merits. After more than a century, Dinh Thay Thim is still the "spiritual home" of the people of the Southeast coastal region of Lam Dong, a spiritual support for many generations with the wish for favorable weather, a peaceful and prosperous life. In 1997, Dinh Thay Thim was recognized as a national historical and cultural relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism).
This year's festival will fully recreate the traditional rituals: the Nghinh Than Ceremony, the Tinh Sanh Ceremony, the Tuc Yet Ceremony, the Tien Hien Hau Hien Ceremony... In a solemn atmosphere, people and tourists will light incense sticks to commemorate the merits of Thay and Thim, praying for national peace, favorable weather, and a prosperous business. Besides the sacred ceremony, the festival promises to be exciting with many unique folk games: boat racing, tug of war, carrying fish, women's beach volleyball, cooking competition, flower arrangement... The theatrical programs reenacting the story of Thay and Thim, free medical examination and treatment, and medicine distribution, along with local culinary space such as: banh can, vermicelli with fish sauce, grilled fish, banh xeo bien... make the festival more lively and intimate.
Cultural - tourism highlight Dinh Thay Thim Cultural - Tourism Festival contributes to promoting the local image, promoting the development of green and sustainable tourism. In recent years, traffic infrastructure, parking lots, service areas, and lighting at the relic site have been invested in and renovated, creating favorable conditions to welcome pilgrims and tourists from the provinces of the Southeast, South Central and Central Highlands. Tan Hai commune leaders shared that local people consider the festival as the second biggest holiday of the year. It is not simply a religious activity but also an opportunity to unite, introduce the culture and tourism of the homeland to friends from all over.
The Dinh Thay Thim Festival in 2025 is an occasion to pay tribute to the merits of Thay and Thim, demonstrating the enduring vitality of Vietnamese folk beliefs, a place where compassion, affection and community solidarity converge. Amidst the bustling drum beats and the billowing incense smoke, each person feels more inclined to be kind, loves their homeland more, and is more proud of the peaceful and affectionate land in the Southeast coastal region of Lam Dong.