This spring, come to Cua Ong temple...

For a long time, the special national historical site of Cua Ong - Cap Tien Temple has become a sacred traditional cultural and religious space every time Tet comes, not only for the people of the Mining Region. Coming to Cua Ong Temple, offering incense to commemorate Hung Nhuong Dai Vuong Tran Quoc Tang and the gods, visitors also have the opportunity to participate in the temple festival - one of the traditional and unique festivals, included in the list of national intangible cultural heritage.

A large number of people and tourists come to visit and worship at Cua Ong Temple during Tet.

Cua Ong Temple is an ancient temple with beautiful and unique architecture in the system of temples in Vietnam. The project is also praised for its location in a favorable position, with beautiful mountains and rivers overlooking the clear blue Bai Tu Long Bay. Every year, hundreds of thousands of visitors come to Cua Ong Temple to pray for favorable weather, peace, luck, or to temporarily put aside the worries and troubles of life to find moments of peace and tranquility in their souls.

Not only is it the peak time to welcome people and tourists during Tet holidays, but also before Tet and throughout the 3 spring months, Cua Ong Temple is always bustling with people coming to visit and worship. According to statistics from the Monument Management Board, during the 9 days of Tet holiday (from December 26th of the lunar calendar to the 5th day of Tet), Cua Ong Temple welcomed over 90,000 visitors.

People ask for the first words of the year at Cua Ong Temple.

As a resident of Cam Pha City, every year Ms. Cao Thi Quynh Anh's family goes to Cua Ong Temple together on the first day of Tet to pray for a new year with many good things. Ms. Quynh Anh shared: Going to Cua Ong Temple has become a tradition of my family during Tet and temple festivals. The whole family chooses traditional ao dai to visit the temple, offering incense to the gods and national heroes to express their respect as well as send wishes for a new year with good luck, prosperity, happiness and peace.

Ms. Pham Thi Huong (tourist from Hanoi ) said: For many years, my family has chosen Quang Ninh to go on a spring trip and cannot miss spiritual places such as Yen Tu and Cua Ong Temple. Every year when I go to Cua Ong Temple, I see the joyful atmosphere, the landscape, the temple space is always clean, airy with fresh flowers everywhere, making everyone who goes to the temple feel more comfortable and peaceful to look towards good things.

As a highlight in the organization and management of the festival, during the Tet holidays, environmental sanitation, security and order, traffic safety, and fire prevention and fighting at the temple are always enhanced and ensured. The Monument Management Board regularly propagates to raise visitors' awareness in preserving the relic and surrounding landscape on loudspeakers; donation boxes in the relic area are placed in the right place; shops around the temple area are arranged and located reasonably, there is no encroachment on the roadway, sidewalk, no arbitrary price increase... Along with that, people and visitors all strictly follow the regulations on festival civilization from neat and standard costumes to worship rituals.

The procession of Duc Ong and the gods is a traditional ritual of the Cua Ong Temple festival. — The procession of Duc Ong and the gods is a traditional ritual of Cua Ong Temple Festival. *Photo: Cua Ong Temple Festival 2024*

Not only going to the temple on Tet holiday, starting from the 3rd day of the 2nd lunar month, local people and visitors from all over gather here to attend the Cua Ong Temple Festival with all their respect. Cua Ong Temple Festival is one of the major festivals in the province, organized to honor and promote the historical and cultural values of the special national relic Cua Ong - Cap Tien Temple and the national intangible cultural heritage Cua Ong Temple Festival. Thereby, constantly promoting the national cultural identity, contributing to cultural education , historical traditions, arousing pride in the homeland, country and connecting the community.

The Cua Ong Temple Festival is organized with a ceremony and a festival. The ceremony is organized solemnly, solemnly, and fully according to traditional rituals. Along with that, visitors will be immersed in the joyful and bustling atmosphere of the festival with activities imbued with national cultural colors, such as: Competition for offering and preparing the ceremony, the contest for playing cards; folk games such as human chess, boi chess, tug of war, stick pushing, cockfighting, blindfolded ball hitting... With careful preparation, methodical organization and management of the festival, Cua Ong Temple promises to always be a civilized and attractive destination for visitors in early spring.

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