Cua Ong temple festival officially received recognition as national intangible cultural heritage at a ceremony on Feb. 28 at Cua Ong temple historic relic, Cam Pha city, Quang Ninh province.
Cua Ong Temple Festival is annually celebrated on Feb. 3 lunar calendar. The festival is an iconic fighting spirit against invaders to defend the country by the honoring Tran Quoc Tang, who's transformed into a God, the God of the temple. In the even-numbered years, the festival is usually organized with many meaningful activities, especially the Duc Ong ceremonial procession, and festive activities including human chess, swimming, boat racing, covering eyes with cloth to bang cooking pots, cockfighting, rice cooking, etc.
This year's 3 day festival is held coinciding with the ceremony receiving the certificate of recognition as national intangible cultural heritage at Cua Ong temple historic relic.
For years, Cua Ong temple has become a spiritual and tourist destination for both locals and visitors across the country, as well as foreigners. As reported, the temple welcomed over 100,000 tourist arrivals from the beginning of the lunar year. On the peak days, it received 20,000 arrivals.
With other 16 heritages, Cua Ong Temple festival was recognized as the national intangible cultural heritages by the The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. This recognition of the Cua Ong temple festival helps not only promote the value of the festival but also preserve Quang Ninh's culture.
Article by Phuong Thuy
