Visitors braced the drizzle at night to attend the seal-opening ceremony at Tran Temple in the northern province of Nam Dinh on February 4.
Visitors at the Tran Temple in Nam Dinh Province.
Despite the ceremony taking place late at night, visitors were already rushing to the temple from the afternoon to offer their incense. The large number of personal vehicles, especially cars, packed the roads leading to the temple.
At around 11pm, in the sacred atmosphere, current and former leaders of Nam Dinh Province and people witness the local elders to stamp the seal bearing Chinese characters of blessings.
Following the seal-opening ceremony, the Tran Temple began to open to visitors and the stamped papers began to be distributed to people and pilgrims from 5am on February 5.
In neighbouring province of Ha Nam, a ceremony was also held at Tran Thuong Temple to open a festival commemorating Tran Hung Dao, an outstanding general in the Tran Dynasty.
The site of the temple was the former food warehouse chosen by Tran Hung Dao to provide food supplies for the resistance war against the Mongol invasions in the 13th century.
At the festival, small bags of locally grown grains are distributed to visitors with the wish for a year of favourable weather and abundant crops.