Ki?p B?c temple Festival

Time: 16th day to 20th day of 8th lunar month
Place: Lê L?i commune, Chí Linh district, H?i D??ng city, H?i D??ng province.
Objectif of worship: death anniversary of Saint Tran.

The festival bears the special characteristics of the traditional national identity. One of the most interesting activities in the festival is the boat race on the Luc Dau River, in which hundreds of boats participate. The boat race is like flying arrows rushing through the air as the boats are urged along by drumming sounds and the screaming of excited people. Taking part in the Kiep Bac Temple Festival, participants relive the atmosphere of when Tran Quoc Tuan placed his troops into a battle-array. This festival makes the Vietnamese people feel proud of the glorious traditions of their nation.

The main ceremony is followed by a great ceremony with elaborate worshipping procedures. This ceremony is followed next by a procession where Saint Tran's ancestral tablet is brought on a golden procession chair, passing three walled gates toward the river bank. The procession chair is then placed on a royal barge. The procession march lasts for two hours and then Saint Tran's ancestral tablet is brought back to the main temple for the last religious service.

Tens of thousands of Vietnamese people make the pilgrimage to celebrate not only their great general, but their nation’s proud military history. They are united by a belief and a great notion that Vietnam is a great country and it has not and will never bow to a foreign power.