Giong Festival qualified for heritage recognition

Giong Festival meets enough standards to be recognised as intangible cultural heritage of mankind, said Katherin Muller-Marin, Head of UNESCO’s office in Hanoi.

At the festival manoeuvre at Phu Dong Commune, Gia Lam District on April 20, Muller-Marin cited the community’s participation in the preservation and promotion of heritage values as an important factor for the recognition.

Saint Giong, also called Emperor Phu Dong, is one of four immortals in the Vietnamese folk beliefs. Legend has it that, at the age of three, he smashed a powerful army of invaders and protected peace for the country. After the victory, he rode his iron horse up to the sky.

Held on the ninth day of the fourth lunar month, the festival is a chance for attendants to watch the performance of traditional rituals and artistic activities which have been handed down from generations to generations.