Some 3,000 local residents attended the Huyen Tran Temple Festival which kicked off on February 21 at the complex of temples in the central city of Hue’s Ngu Phong Mountain to worship Huyen Tran Princess and her father, King Tran Nhan Tong (1258-1308).

Deputy President Nguyen Thi Doan joined a ritual ceremony, and lit incense to pray for peace and prosperity in the new lunar year of the Tiger.

The prayers and rituals were conducted by hundreds of Buddhist monks at the temple of King Tran Nhan Tong.

The ceremony was also attended by hundreds of officials from Hanoi, HCM City, Da Nang and the provinces of Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Quang Nam.

Thua Thien-Hue province first hosted the Huyen Tran Temple Festival in 2008. This year’s festival is part of activities held by the province to celebrate the 1,000^th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

Phan Tien Dung, director of the provincial Department of Culture, Tourism and Sports said the festival reminds people of the princess’s contribution and offers a chance to pray for peace.

Participants played folk games and visited an exhibition which displays local traditional handicraft products, including bronze and wood carving, embroidery, and incense and conical palm-leaf hat making.

The festival also include a conference on the role of women in preserving national culture, an orchestral performance of songs featuring Hue City, a flower arrangement contest, and a kung-fu performance.

The festival proves a popular pilgrimage for Buddhist followers in Hue and neighbouring areas, as King Tran Nhan Tong became a Buddhist monk and his daughter a nun in the last period of their lives.