Hanoi is all geared up to host two major Tet-related events on the sixth and seventh days of the Lunar New Year at the Huong Pagoda and the Ba Kieu Temple respectively.
On the sixth day of the first lunar month of the Year of the Tiger, which falls on Friday, February 19, the annual Huong Pagoda Festival will open in what used to be the northern province of Ha Tay.
The province is now part of Hanoi.
Organizers have prepared for this big event, which lasts for more than a month, with additional boats and completing several construction works including widening the path to the Tuyet Son Cave, the cable car to the Giai Oan Pagoda and Huong Tich Cave, and upgrading the Hoi Bridge.
While they expect to welcome more than a million visitors to the festival, organizers are fairly confident that the new works will prevent big crowds getting stuck on the way to some historical sites at Huong Son.
According to the Venerable Thich Minh Hien of the Huong Pagoda, the 2010 festival will feature additional events to the traditional ones, including an exhibition of Buddhist fine arts.
Meanwhile, on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, a cultural extravaganza will be presented at the Ba Kieu Temple on the Sword Lake in Hanoi.
The program will feature concerts, dancing and martial art performances. Various martial arts clubs and schools, like Thanh Phong, Vovina, Thien Mon and Nhat Nam will present their skills to a large audience.
The major spotlight of the martial arts performance will be a stupendous feat by students of the Thien Mon School who will run on the water surface.
This is one of the hardest skills in martial arts, which require a long period of practice before students understand the moves. This skill has almost disappeared, and not many martial arts masters can remember or perform them at present.
