PANO – Thousands of visitors at home and abroad flocked to the Nghinh Ong festival 2016 in Can Thanh townlet, Can Gio district, Ho Chi Minh City from September 14 to 16.

The festival included a number of activities, such as a visit to Rung Sac War Cemetery, a procession at sea and from the sea to Ong Thuy Tuong Temple (Temple Worshiping the Whale), a ceremony to float lanterns to the sea and various folk games.

Highlights of this year’s festival were lantern streets; a food festival; a firework show at sea and sport competitions.

The Nghinh Ong festival, the national intangible cultural heritage, is held annually on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month with the aim of preserving and developing the traditional customs and cultural activities of fishermen as well as introducing and promoting traditional historical and cultural values of the festival.

Below are a number of images of the festival.

A procession of wagons carrying the Whale to the sea
Lion and dragon dances at the festival
The Whale being carried to the sea
Fishing boats decorated with flowers and flags participating in the festival
Fishing boats docked to pick up “the Whale” from the sea to the land
Moving from the sea to Ong Thuy Tuong Temple (Temple Worshiping the Whale).
Artists walking on stilts
Offering incense to pray for good weather and a good harvest at Ong Thuy Tuong Temple

Translated by Hong Anh