On the morning of January 27, 2023 (January 6, Quy Mao), the opening ceremony of Huong Xuan Quy Mao Pagoda with the theme “Security – Civilization – Kindness” was held in the courtyard of Thien Tru Pagoda (Huong Son Township). My Duc District, Hanoi City).

MANY NEW FEATURES

We are present in Huong Son from the afternoon of January 26, 2023 (ie the 5th of the first lunar month). Our first impression is that the roads in the hamlet to the Yen creek are nicer, although there are many tourists, there are no local traffic jams.

Previously, visitors were allowed to drive to the Yen Quay, there were parking lots for cars and motorcycles on both sides of the Yen Quay. But now the local government has planned and built 3 large car parks outside the commune edge where the roads lead to the commune, each car park is tens of hectares wide and has a capacity of 1000-3000 cars.

According to the announcement of the Organizing Committee of the 2023 Huong Xuan Pagoda Festival, a system of 50 trams will be deployed here to transport passengers from Hoi Xa bus station to Yen Vy quay, from Duc Khe bus station to Dong Cu quay area of ​​Trinh Temple) and from the bus station on road 1 to the quay of Tuyet Son Pagoda. That is, all visitors are transported by electric cars from the parking lot to the Yen quay, a distance of 1-1.5 km.

However, when we arrived the number of guests was large while the number of trams was too small and maybe only served 1/10 of the number of guests. Instead, a large force of local motorbike taxis served the majority of tourists instead of trams. Motorbike taxis take each passenger to Yen Wharf and charge VND 10,000/person, which is the same price as electric cars. However, the fact that motorcycle taxis surround customers to snatch customers and compete for customers has created a messy and unsightly picture right at the parking lots and Yen Quay.

On the other hand, most motorcycle taxi drivers and all tourists are not allowed to wear helmets, while each motorcycle taxi usually “stocks up” 2 to 3 guests with backpacks and belongings, so it is very dangerous to deliver pine. We asked to wear helmets but none of the motorbike taxis here have helmets.

It has been observed that not only motorcycle taxi drivers but also most motorcyclists in Huong Son Township do not wear helmets. Along the way we met many police officers, police officers, security guards who were on duty to maintain security for the festival and direct traffic, but no one reminded all motorcyclists to wear helmets.

On the boat upstream from Yen Vi, we saw the boat close to the inside as sunset fell. It shows that Huong Son’s visitors were very crowded just before the festival opened.

On the night of the 5th it rained almost all night without a break. However, around 4 a.m. on the 6th, the rain suddenly stopped and stopped. Shortly after the rain stopped, the flow of people began to emerge from the Yen Stream to Thien Tru, and every time it was crowded, until the morning, the flow of people was extremely crowded. The weather in Thien Tru was clear on the morning of the festival, neither rain nor sunshine, the weather was cloudy again, everyone praised the beautiful weather.

Mr. Nguyen Ba Hien, CEO of Huong Son Scenic Area (Perfume Pagoda, My Duc District, Hanoi), said that on the 2nd and 3rd days of the lunar new year, 20,000 tourists come to Huong Pagoda every day. On the 4th day of the Lunar New Year, the number of visitors here doubled to over 40,000 people.

Huong Pagoda Festival in 2023 has many new features such as entrance tickets and boat tickets from traditional tickets converted to electronic tickets. The CEO of Huong Son Monuments and Scenic Areas also said that the festival organizing committee is actively implementing contingency plans and plans to ensure the festival takes place in a safe and civilized manner in terms of traffic congestion, parking lots and channeling of boats…

In order to ensure safety and order, food hygiene and safety during the festival, the management of restaurants and bars has the highest priority. In particular, the interdisciplinary working group will regularly check the shops and remind them to ensure food hygiene and safety for tourists.

Surveying a round of shops in the Phu Ma Valley outside Thien Tru Pagoda and on the way to Huong Tich Cave, it was found that all the shops listed their prices at a very reasonable rate, there didn’t seem to be a scene of ‘hacking and slashing “ to give “. “touristy as before.

TRADITIONAL BEAUTY IN COMMUNITY CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

Opening the festival, Vice Chairman of the My Duc District People’s Committee Mr. Dang Van Canh, Head of the Organizing Committee of the 2023 Huong Xuan Pagoda Festival, said that when hundreds of flowers bloom in the Huong Son Mountains and forests, millions of Buddhists return to worship. Come here to light incense sticks to worship Buddha and release your soul into nature in the sacred mountains, the mountains, the sky, the mallow scene. Leaders of the District Party Committee, My Duc District People’s Committee, in cooperation with the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha and Tung Lam Huong Tich, organized the 2023 Huong Pagoda Spring Festival with the theme “Security – Civilization – Kindness”.

Huong Son scenic area complex is a great scenic spot of historical, cultural, spiritual and tourist value with 21 relics of pagodas, temples and caves worshiping Buddha with streams, rivers, mountains, fields and fields. Beach… Here, the wonderful harmonious combination between natural wonders and human hands has created an enchanting natural picture.

This place is associated with the Buddhist monastery – the place where the practice of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Ba Chua Ba exists, where priceless Buddhist relics exist, where the quintessence of brilliant historical and cultural values ​​exist.Buddhist beliefs of the nation. Along with the wonders of stalactites and stalactites that are close to people, people often call them by very familiar names such as gold trees, silver trees, rice dunes, duckweed ponds, rice cocoons, silkworms and cocoons … associated with agricultural production and cultural Beliefs in fertility breast milk, Co-Berg, Cau-Berg.

According to Mr. Dang Van Canh, the Perfume Pagoda is the historical witness of the ups and downs of the centuries. In December 2017, the Prime Minister signed a decision recognizing the Huong Son Scenic Landscape Complex as a Special National Relic.

As usual, every time spring comes, Huong Pagoda jubilantly opens the 3-month festival, which has become a tradition of cultural activities in the community.

“This tradition will live forever, crossing in harmonious natural beauty and mysterious spiritual beauty. Visitors can both admire the beautiful scenery and slow down, relax, and enjoy the tranquility of the holy land. Every time they enter the Perfume Pagoda, it seems like everyone leaves behind the cares of the world, the burdens, pressures and stresses of life out there to focus on looking back at the mountainous landscape. The place is known as “Nam Thien De Nhat Dong, immersed in the arms of Mother Nature, the protection of gentle Mother Avalokitesvara,” confirmed Mr. Canh.

Regarding this year’s festival season, the number of tourists is expected to be large because everyone wants to go to the Incense Pagoda due to a three-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 epidemic, Mr. Dang Van Canh said that the Perfume Pagoda Festival is a bridge between material and immaterial culture, a bridge between past and future. The land and sky of Huong Son are not only beautiful in the vastness of Hoanh Son Mountains, but also in the hearts of people who make pilgrimages here, so the ancients said: if the mountains are not high, the scenery will not be strange if the road is not long, people’s hearts will not be revealed. .

“The My Duc District People’s Committee will coordinate with Tung Lam Huong Tich to promote the festival’s unique cultural traditions and protect relics and sacred objects related to the cultural heritage of Huong Pagoda. The local government, together with Tung Lam Huong Tich and the entire Huong Son people, launched various activities to attract tourists to worship the Buddha, ensure organization, safety and a healthy environment. At the same time, promote resources so that the Perfume Pagoda Relic Complex is not only a sanctuary for the ancestors, but also a destination for all domestic and foreign tourists,” stressed Mr. Dang Van Canh.