Bai Dinh Pagoda Festival - Amazing Ninh Binh

Bai Dinh Pagoda Festival

Spring is also the time when in the ancient capital of Hoa Lu, millions of Buddhists in the whole country and tourists eagerly participate in Bai Dinh Pagoda Festival.

Bai Dinh Pagoda Festival - Amazing Ninh Binh

Bai Dinh Pagoda

Bai Dinh Pagoda is a complex pagoda located on Bai Dinh Mountain, Gia Sinh (Gia Vien), Ninh Binh Vietnam. This temple includes an ancient temple and a new temple built in 2003. The Bai Dinh Pagoda is located in the ancient historical relic Hoa Lu, with many records set by the Vietnam Record Center such as The largest pagoda in Vietnam (107ha); The largest bronze Buddha in Southeast Asia (Statue of Buddha Tathagata weighing 100 tons, three statues of Tam The, each statue weighs 50 tons);  two largest bells in Southeast Asia (36 and 27 tons); The largest Arhat statues in Vietnam (500 statues of green stone about 2m high); The temple with the largest well in Vietnam; the largest bodhi tree in Vietnam (100 bodhi trees have origin from the Indian bodhi tree), etc.

 Bai Dinh Pagoda Festival

The festival of Bai Dinh Pagoda is held from the first day of the Lunar New Year, starts on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year and lasts until the end of the third lunar month. the opening ceremony of the pilgrimage festivals to the ancient capital Hoa Lu Ninh Binh. Festival of Bai Dinh Pagoda consists of 2 parts: the ceremony and the entertainment activities.

The ceremony includes incense offering for Buddha, the memorial ceremony of the holy Nguyen Minh Khong, the sacrificial ceremony of Cao Son and the worship of the Thanh Mau Thuong Ngan. The Festival of Bai Dinh Pagoda is started with the palanquin procession of the god Cao Son, the Holy Nguyen and the Thanh Mau Thuong Ngan from the ancient temple to the new temple.

The ceremony at Bai Dinh Pagoda is relatively solemn because it does not only worship the gods, the Buddha, the Thanh Mau Thuong Ngan but also is associated with many important historical events of the nation with the holy Nguyen, King Quang Trung, and Dinh Bo Linh. Thus, the ceremony consists of the synthesis of the religious belief system in Vietnam:  Vietnamese folk religion, Taoism, Buddhism, and even Confucianism. In the Festival, the villagers held the god procession from the cave. The atmosphere here is solemn but comfortable.

Delegates, monks, and nuns, as well as tourists, could participate in prayers for prosperity and happiness.

The entertainment activities of Bai Dinh Pagoda Festival include folk games,  visiting the cave, visiting the temple, enjoying performances of Cheo singing, Xam singing, Tru singing. Theatrical performances usually performed by Ninh Binh Opera Society with the replay of Dinh Tien Hoang sacrificial ceremony and the sacrificial ceremony of King Quang Trung on Mount Dinh before the battle.

In addition, the activities on the festive days take place excitingly with wrestling, chess playing, rice cooking chicken kicking, tug of war. The folk games on New Year are bustling and exciting, making visitors of Ninh Binh tour fascinated.

The land of the notables – the home of Holy Nguyen and Emperor Dinh Tien Hoang, who laid the foundations and contributed greatly to the development of Buddhism. This is a Vietnamese typical traditional festival. Bai Dinh Pagoda festival is one of the cultural heritage of the ancient capital with spiritual and cultural values.

Traveling to visit Ninh Binh with Bai Dinh – Trang An 1 day tour, to the Bai Dinh Pagoda festival, visitors not only could participate in the grandiose festive space but also have the opportunity to admire the largest temple in Southeast Asia.

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