On February 24 (or Lunar January 9 of the Earth Dog’s year), in the joyous celebration of the Flower Horn Festival – Northwestern Spring Radiance, the Opening of Fansipan Heavenly Gate Festival was officially opened to mark the Buddhist peace praying season that lasts until May 14 (the end of Lunar March) in Sun World Fansipan Legend complex.
The Opening of Fansipan Heavenly Gate Festival is hosted in order to accentuate traditional cultural practices and emphasize the complex as a tourist rednevezvous and religious site for visitors and Buddhist followers when spring comes.
Opened on Lunar Janury 9 in coincidence with the Memorial Day of the Heavenly Emperor, the Opening of Fansipan Heanvely Gate Festival starts a fresh new year of material luck, goof fortunre and peace to visitors from throughout the country. Thousands of Buddhist monks of Dai Giac Truc Lam Zen Monastery, Chon Ngo Truc Lam Zen Monastery, Buddhist followers and visitors gathered in Bao An Zen Monastery at the foot of Hoang Lien Mountains to listen to lecturing of Buddhist scriptures and pray for peace in the sacred cultural and religious site of the Fansipan.
In celebration of visitors who gladly join the festival, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Chien, Executive Director of Sun World Fansipan Legend said: “The Opening of Fansipan Heavenly Gate Festival is a key event of Sun World Fansipan Legend complex to accentuate profound ideological lessons of Buddha. It’s also a great cultural event for visitors and Buddhist followers to follow and practice traditional values and community values and voice their wishes of a prosperous life”.
Mr. Nguyen Xuan Chien, Executive Director of Sun World Fansipan Legend
On the opening day, beside ubiquitous Northwestern horn dances and art performances, Buddhist followers and prayers are also given luck voodoo from Chief Monk Thich Chan Hien to embrace fortune and wisdom in a New Year, before embarking on the journey to the “Heavenly Gate” of this legendary Roof of Indochina..
Following the inaugural drum sounds, Buddhist monkns and followers pilgrimed to the Fansipan Heavenly Gate to admire this unwinding religious site and pray for an affluent and abundant and peaceful year.
Beside the tallest bronze Amitabha Atatue of Vietnam (21.5m) as the symbol of Fansipan Cultural and religious complex, there are also Kim Son Bao Thang Pagoda, hosting Dai Hung Treasured Hall and various sophisticated Buddha statues, a 11-storey stupa of monolithic rock and Alahat Path lined with 18 bronze Alahat statues standing 2.5m tall, not to mention other equally refined developments such as Bich Van Zen Monastery, Guanyin Buddha Statue, the Belfry, Observatory Pavilion or the Mountain God Shrine… In the Lunar New Year of the Earth Dog, this vast cultural and religious complex attracted legions of Buddhists and visitors praying for peace.
Visitors to the Opening of Fansipan Heavenly Gate are also invited to the native Northwestern New Year celebrations in floral abundance and melodious Hmong horn tunes, play full up throttle folk games and relish great native foods in the vibrant Hmong Horn Festival – Northwestern Spring Radiance in Sun World Fansipan Legend.
Opening of Fansipan Heavenly Gate Festival is an annuall event held on Lunar January 9 every year, marking a key date for Buddhist circle and visitors to this crucial pilgrimage site to pray for peace in celebration of a new year. This culturally meaningful value of the Northwestern highlands is thus also promoted to Buddhists and visitors nationwide.
It’s also a great effort of Sun World Fansipan Legend management in preserving and promoting cultural values and diversifying tourist products and services as to brand Sapa and Lao Cai in general to tourists.
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