Thousands of people flock to Yen Tu on a cold, rainy day

On February 7 (January 10, At Ty year), the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha of Quang Ninh province coordinated with the People's Committee of Uong Bi city to organize the opening ceremony of Yen Tu Spring Festival 2025. This is an annual activity that is considered to be the beginning of Yen Tu welcoming tens of thousands of tourists to come for pilgrimage and worship.

Attending the opening ceremony were Ms. Nguyen Thi Doan, Former Vice President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Mr. Hoang Dao Cuong, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, along with representatives of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province and representatives of the Uong Bi city government.

According to Tien Phong newspaper, on the opening day, the weather turned cold and drizzled. At the foot of Yen Tu mountain, the temperature sometimes dropped below 12 degrees Celsius, the higher the altitude, the lower the temperature.

A representative of the Yen Tu National Forest and Relic Management Board said that due to the cold and rainy weather, people and tourists (especially the elderly and children) need to bring warm clothes, raincoats and ensure their health when making a pilgrimage to Yen Tu mountain.

This year's Yen Tu Festival opening ceremony is organized in two parts: ceremony and festival. The difference this year is that the procession ceremony lasts from Khai Tam Gate, passing through Minh Tam Square and entering Truc Lam Palace of Truc Lam Yen Tu Cultural Center.

Leading the procession are the dragon and unicorn teams, the eight-sound and eight-treasure teams, along with the Buddhist and Association flag teams and 11 palanquins... each palanquin has from 16 to 20 people carrying it. Following at the back are the delegates, local people and tourists.

In addition to the solemn ceremony, this year's Yen Tu Spring Festival has special cultural activities such as the Lantern Festival Night, praying for national peace and prosperity, organizing folk games, performing traditional arts in the Yen Tu Village area, performing arts, dragon and lion dances, traditional martial arts...

Thu Huong, a resident of Uong Bi City, said she had been to Yen Tu many times, but this was the first time she had joined the procession on the opening day of the festival. Huong said she was moved by this new experience.

On the occasion of the opening ceremony, many schools also organized extracurricular activities for students to learn about the religious career of Buddhist Emperor Tran Nhan Tong.

The weather is cold but many families still let their children join the pilgrimage trip to the Buddhist holy land of Truc Lam Yen Tu.

"I am very lucky because today I was able to make a pilgrimage on the occasion of Yen Tu's opening ceremony. I went with my family and planned to climb Yen Tu mountain after attending the ceremony," said Mr. Quan, a resident of Hanoi .

The opening ceremony was also attended by international guests.

Representatives of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha of Quang Ninh province and Uong Bi city rang bells and drums to officially open the Yen Tu spring festival 2025.

After the bell and drum beating to open the festival, representatives of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha performed the sacred seal-stamping ceremony of Yen Tu.

Yen Tu mountain is a sacred land, a blessed land of the nation, a place associated with the name and great career of King Tran Nhan Tong - the king who led the army and people of Dai Viet to defeat the invading Yuan - Mongol invaders twice.

After two glorious wars, when the country was at peace, he left the throne to his son, King Tran Anh Tong, to focus on studying Buddhism. In 1299, King Tran Nhan Tong went to Yen Tu mountain to practice Buddhism, took the Buddhist name Dieu Ngu Giac Hoang, and became the first Patriarch of the Truc Lam Zen sect. For that reason, later generations always believed that Yen Tu was the origin and birthplace of the Truc Lam Zen sect and King Tran Nhan Tong was the Buddha of Vietnam.