The event is part of the activities supporting the National Tourism Year 2018 which will be hosted by Quang Ninh province.
The Yen Tu Festival is also kicked off with a series of colorful ceremonies and cultural activities, such as folk games, performance of traditional embroidery craft of ethnic groups and others.
The highlight event is an art show describing the life of King-Monk Tran Nhan Tong.
Tran Nhan Tong (1258-1308) was the third king of the Tran Dynasty to practice and propagate Buddhism. He founded the Truc Lam School of Zen 700 years ago. After defeating Mongol invaders, the king abdicated his throne at the age of 35 and spent the rest of his life on Yen Tu Mountain. During that time, the King-Monk worked to unify different sects of Vietnamese Buddhism into Vietnamese Zen Buddhism.
The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha Central Committee has long observed the day King Tran Nhan Tong attained Nirvana (first day of the 11th lunar month) as a national anniversary day for Vietnamese Buddhism.
Buddhist monks, pilgrims and tourist come to the festival every year to express their gratitude for the great merits and religious career of King-Buddhist Tran Nhan Tong and pray for peace and prosperity on occasion of the upcoming Lunar New Year.
