Vehicles with blue license plates line up for the Yen Tu festival.

Despite Hanoi and many other provinces and cities having banned the use of government vehicles for attending festivals, on the opening day of the Yen Tu festival on February 9th, several government-owned vehicles with blue license plates appeared in the parking lot.

On the morning of February 9th, the Yen Tu Spring Festival 2014 officially opened with the participation of many delegates and visitors from all over. The crowds flocking to the "Buddhist capital of Vietnam" were so large that the roads leading to the cable car, Giai Oan Pagoda, Hoa Yen Pagoda, and Dong Pagoda became congested. The parking lot of the Yen Tu Spring Festival was packed, with cars lining up in long queues on both sides of the road leading to the pagoda.

In the non-priority parking area, several cars with blue license plates from provinces such as Hanoi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Hai Duong, and Bac Giang were spotted. These vehicles did not have the organizing committee's emblem.

Government vehicles (with blue license plates) are parked along the road leading to Yen Tu and scattered throughout the parking lots. Photo: Quynh Trang.

The organizing committee coordinated with the police, military, and local authorities to deploy 300 officers and soldiers at various points along the pilgrimage route, on duty 24/7 throughout the festival. According to VnExpress's observations, apart from one pickpocketing incident at Dong Pagoda, security and order on the opening day were relatively well-maintained. Street vendors and beggars were also "completely absent," as promised by the organizing committee. Although money exchange services were strictly prohibited, they still appeared in a few places along the route and at rest stops.

On the morning of the festival opening, the roads leading to the temples in Yen Tu were quite clean. However, after noon, raincoats, plastic bags, empty boxes, etc., were scattered all over the temple grounds and along the pilgrimage route, even though the entire Yen Tu route has more than 500 bins and 100 plastic containers for garbage.

Dong Pagoda, a place often crowded with people pushing and shoving to light incense. Photo: Quynh Trang.

According to Mr. Nguyen Trung Hai, Head of the Management Board of the Yen Tu Scenic Area, there were over 65,000 visitors on February 9th alone. The cable car system will operate 24/7 to serve pilgrims.

Although cable car ticket prices have increased by 15-20% compared to last year, according to Mr. Hai, the number of people buying tickets has not decreased. "More than half of the visitors to Yen Tu still use this service for convenience," the head of the committee said.

According to vnexpress