A civilized and safe festival season.

A series of festivals are taking place in a lively atmosphere in many localities in the North, attracting a large number of locals and tourists.

The Huong Pagoda Festival, themed "Safety - Friendliness - Quality," opened on the morning of the 6th day of Tet (February 22nd) and attracted tens of thousands of locals and tourists from all over the country.

Eager to attend the New Year's festival.

The Huong Pagoda Festival is one of the most famous festivals in Northern Vietnam because the Huong Son Relic Area ( Hanoi City) boasts picturesque scenery and is renowned for its sacredness.

The opening ceremony of the Huong Pagoda festival on February 22nd (the 6th day of the Lunar New Year). Photo: TA DINH DUNG

Visitors to Huong Pagoda not only participate in a pilgrimage to the Buddhist realm but also immerse themselves in the vast landscape of mountains and water, spending hours on boats admiring the scenery. From the 1st to the 9th day of Tet (February 25th), nearly 209,900 visitors came to Huong Pagoda, an increase of 124.7% compared to the same period last year.

In Quang Ninh province, the Yen Tu Spring Festival in the year of the Horse 2026 will take place on the 10th day of the first lunar month (February 26) at Truc Lam Palace, within the Yen Tu historical and scenic site, lasting for the first three months of the year. This is the first festival season since the Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son - Kiet Bac complex of historical and scenic sites was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage site.

Tens of thousands of tourists flocked to Huong Pagoda during the first days of the Year of the Horse 2026.

The Yen Tu Spring Festival is a place where history, culture, religious beliefs, philosophy, and folk life intersect. Associated with the ascetic journey of Emperor Tran Nhan Tong, this festival honors the engaged spirit of Vietnamese Buddhism: practicing asceticism amidst life, achieving enlightenment through action, and finding liberation right in the midst of humanity. It is this philosophy that makes Yen Tu a unique pilgrimage center, inseparable from social life but deeply integrated into community activities.

Immediately following the Yen Tu Festival opening ceremony, the Lim Festival of the Year of the Horse 2026 will be held over two days, February 28th and March 1st. The Lim Festival has a very long history and once developed to a district-wide scale – encompassing six communes and wards in what is now Bac Ninh province.

The Lim Festival is not just an ordinary traditional festival, but also a vibrant cultural space. This festival clearly demonstrates the core historical values ​​and strong relationships between villages in practicing the Quan Ho folk song heritage of Bac Ninh.

Earlier, on February 25th, at the Kính Thiên Palace area within the Thăng Long Imperial Citadel, the Thăng Long - Hanoi Heritage Conservation Center solemnly organized a ceremony to offer incense to inaugurate the Lunar New Year of the Horse 2026 according to traditional court rituals. This cultural and spiritual activity is expected to usher in a prosperous and auspicious new year.

The spring incense offering ceremony at Thang Long Imperial Citadel is an annual event with sacred significance, recreating the atmosphere of ancient royal court rituals, harmoniously combined with the traditional folk spring festival spirit of the nation.

Linked to tourism development

During the first five days of this year's Lunar New Year holiday, approximately 130,000 people made pilgrimages to the Buddhist land of Yen Tu.

Mr. Mac Xuan Tu, Chairman of the People's Committee of Yen Tu Ward, Quang Ninh Province, predicted that this year, the number of tourists visiting this historical and scenic site will increase significantly. Therefore, the local authorities have requested functional forces to proactively develop plans to ensure traffic safety and security throughout the festival.

New features of this year's Yen Tu Spring Festival include free entrance tickets (excluding cable car ride) and free parking until the end of 2026, as well as insurance coverage for all visitors. An artificial intelligence (AI) automated recognition system has also been installed at the historical site.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hanh, Vice Chairman of the Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee, emphasized that the Yen Tu Spring Festival was organized on a large scale, in a systematic manner, and deeply rooted in the Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen sect. This festival continues to spread the values ​​of the Yen Tu World Cultural Heritage site to local people and tourists both domestically and internationally.

According to many visitors who recently attended the Huong Pagoda Festival, the Huong Son Relic Area has undergone a noticeable transformation in appearance and landscape this year. Many shops and stalls encroaching on the relic's space have been cleared, restoring the open, solemn, and sacred atmosphere that Huong Son originally possessed. The reorganization and rearrangement of business activities have also created a comfortable and civilized atmosphere for locals and tourists coming here for pilgrimage and worship.

Authorities remind tourists attending the Huong Pagoda festival to wear life jackets when boarding boats.

Following a direct inspection by the Hanoi People's Committee leaders of the preparations for the 2026 Huong Pagoda Spring Festival, the organizing committee launched a coordinated campaign to inspect, handle, and remind those violating regulations regarding wearing life jackets on boats along the entire Yen Stream. This year, functional forces are determined to tighten discipline and ensure absolute safety for tourists and Buddhists attending the festival. Boat drivers who overcharge passengers, speak rudely, or engage in offensive behavior will be suspended from service until the end of this year's festival season. The Huong Pagoda Festival Organizing Committee focuses on enhancing the visitor experience, considering this a key factor contributing to the festival's success.

Following the merger, Ninh Binh province now has more than 700 festivals of various sizes. Mr. Tran Song Tung, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, said that Ninh Binh's organization of festivals is linked to the goal of developing heritage tourism, cultural industries, and the creative economy; aiming to become a city by 2030.

According to Mr. Tran Song Tung, the Ninh Binh provincial leadership has requested departments, agencies, and localities to proactively develop plans to ensure security and order, traffic safety, fire prevention and control, environmental sanitation, food safety, etc., throughout the festival season in the province.

Spring festivals and excursions are a beautiful cultural tradition and an opportunity for people to relax and strengthen community bonds after a busy year. However, in the context of the country entering a new phase of development with many urgent tasks, at the Secretariat meeting on February 24th, General Secretary To Lam demanded that there be absolutely no prolonged spring excursions that lead to neglect of duties; and that the mentality of "January is a month for leisure" not be allowed to persist within the political system.

A cultural expert commented that spring excursions are necessary to preserve cultural identity, but they cannot become an excuse to slack off at work and negatively impact socio-economic development. "January is a time for festivities, but the work ethic must remain 'vibrant,' not 'cooled down' by extended spring trips," he observed.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/mua-le-hoi-van-minh-an-toan-196260226204400346.htm