The 2016 Keo Pagoda Autumn Festival opened in Duy Nhat Commune, Vu Thu District, Thai Binh Province on October 10, on the tenth day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar.
The festival aims to commemorate Buddhist monk Duong Khong Lo (1016-1094) and those who took part in the restoration of the pagoda in the seventeenth century.
In addition to traditional religious rituals commemorating the Ly Dynasty Buddhist monk, the festival also hosts a variety of cultural activities that reflect the lifestyle of the Red River Delta’s agricultural communities.
Many folk games, such as racing shells, trumpets and drums, a performance of a traditional dance and the preparation of “phoenix-winged” betel quids, are being organising at the festival.
The festival will run until October 15, and is considered an opportunity to showcase the landscapes and people of Thai Binh and to help to promote the province’s cultural and socioeconomic development.
Just over 130km from the capital, Ha Noi, Keo Pagoda, which was originally built during the Ly Dynasty and reconstructed in 1632, is an ancient building with 128 rooms—more than any other pagoda in Viet Nam.
There are two passageways which separate the pagoda from the temple. They are designed with curved roofs that join together at the 11.04m-high iron and wood bell tower.
The tower has three storeys, each of which possesses its own tiled roof and bronze bell.
The 58,000m² pagoda is home to a wealth of ancient artefacts, which range from intricately engraved wooden dragons to a collection of over 100 statues.
The Keo Pagoda Festival is held annually in the first and ninth months of the lunar calendar.