King Mai Temple Festival - a highlight of spiritual and cultural tourism

(Baonghean) - The Mai King Temple Festival is a traditional cultural festival held annually on the occasion of the full moon of January (lunar calendar). This is one of the festivals that kicks off the festival activities of the year in Nghe An province.

Reporter of Nghe An Newspaper had an interview with comrade Dinh Xuan Que - Deputy Secretary of District Party Committee, Chairman of Nam Dan District People's Committee).

Procession at the Mai King Temple Festival. Photo: PV

PV:With 167 relics and scenic spots, many of which are very special, and rich in unique indigenous culture, Nam Dan has long been considered one of the highlights on Nghe An’s tourist map. What do you think about the above assessment?

Comrade Dinh Xuan Que:This is confirmed by the district's statistics, in the period 2010 - 2015, the number of tourists visiting Nam Dan reached 1.8 - 2 million/year. The tourism sector has contributed to the district achieving a fairly high economic growth rate, over 10%/year. In fact, Nam Dan has the largest number of historical and cultural relics in the province, including many historical relics with value and advantages for tourism development such as: King Mai Relic Cluster, Kim Lien Relic Area, Phan Boi Chau Memorial House, Dai Tue Pagoda... Every year in the district, there are 2 main festivals: King Mai Temple Festival held on the 15th day of the first lunar month and Sen Village Festival held on the occasion of Uncle Ho's birthday. Nam Dan has many tangible and intangible cultural values ​​that are preserved and developed, and is a district in the region of Vi and Giam folk songs recognized by UNESCO as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Regarding culinary culture, Nam Dan is famous for its specialties such as: Nam Dan soy sauce, Sa Nam rice cake, Nam Nghia tamarind meat, Cau Don goat, Lam river sardine, Nam Anh kudzu powder and perch, Bau Non perch... these famous specialties have made Nam Dan a culinary culture center of the whole province.

With a favorable geographical location, good transport infrastructure and a rich and diverse cultural heritage system, Nam Dan identifies tourism and services as the spearhead in the district's socio-economic development. To maximize these advantages, the District Party Committee and the District People's Committee have issued a Resolution on tourism development for the period 2011 - 2015 with a vision to 2020... to propose specific mechanisms, policies and solutions to exploit the locality's available tourism resources.

King Mai Temple Festival. Photo: PV

PV:The Mai King Festival is held on the occasion of the full moon of January every year with many attractive activities. Could you tell us more about the main activities of the 2017 Festival?

Comrade Dinh Xuan Que:The Mai King Temple Festival is a traditional cultural festival held annually on the occasion of the full moon of the first lunar month. This is one of the festivals that kicks off the festival activities of the year in Nghe An province. Coming to the festival, people and tourists from all over the world will be immersed in activities imbued with the identity of the "spiritual land of talented people" such as the water procession ceremony, the opening ceremony, the proclamation ceremony, the incense offering ceremony in memory of Mai King, the great sacrifice ceremony, the thanksgiving ceremony... or participating in folk games such as chess, cockfighting, swinging, tug of war, wrestling. In addition, the festival is an opportunity for Nam Dan to introduce typical products of the homeland such as soy sauce, tapioca starch, peanut oil, peanut butter...

PV:As you have affirmed, the Mai King Festival is one of the traditional festivals held annually and has become a highlight of Nam Dan spiritual cultural tourism. So what are the district’s concerns to increase its attractiveness to tourists?

Comrade Dinh Xuan Que:To commemorate the merits of Mai Hac De and his generals, people in many provinces and cities across the country have built temples, mausoleums, shrines, and tombs. Particularly in Nam Dan, the birthplace and place where King Mai grew up, where the uprising broke out and where King Mai and his mother are buried... every year, starting from January 13 to 15, the King Mai Temple Festival is solemnly held in addition to commemorating the merits of King Mai and his generals, with the great significance of reviewing the heroic spirit of the uprising to defeat the Northern invaders and build an independent Van An country; contributing to educating the people, especially the young generation, about the good traditions of the nation's cause of building and defending the country, in order to increase national pride and love for the homeland. This is also an opportunity for Nam Dan district to promote and introduce the Mai King Relics cluster to tourists and investors who come to learn and enjoy cultural values ​​through the system of temples, mausoleums and shrines, thereby promoting the traditional culture and good customs of the locality, promoting the goal of tourism development in the district.

The district identifies propaganda work as one of the most important tasks. In addition to focusing on propaganda on Nghe An Newspaper, Nghe An Television, District Electronic Information Portal, Radio Stations of 24 communes and towns, we also directed the construction of panels introducing the festival program at the Mai King Tomb Relic Site, Van Dien crossroads, the road to the temple, the town 3-way intersection, Nam Giang and Nam Trung crossroads. Hanging banners, festival flags... across National Highway 46 from Nam Giang to the temple (town), Mai King Tomb Relic Site in Dun Mountain (Van Dien), at the entrances and exits of the district.

To make the Mai King Temple Festival more and more attractive to tourists is something that the Organizing Committee is always very concerned about. Like this year, along with the rituals and festivals like every year, the Mai King Festival 2017 will continue to maintain the Flower Lantern Festival on the 14th night of the lunar calendar at the yard of Mai King's Tomb. This is one of the highlights of the festival. A traditional festival like Mai King Temple Festival must ensure spiritual elements, the preparation work must be very thoughtful... to become more and more attractive to tourists coming here every early spring.

Wrestling at the Mai King Temple Festival. Photo: Trong Sach

PV:To develop sustainable tourism, especially spiritual and cultural tourism, what are the long-term orientations of Nam Dan district, sir?

Comrade Dinh Xuan Que:In recent times, Nam Dan has mobilized resources and capital from many different "channels" to restore and renovate relics. Many projects invested by the Central and the province have been completed and put into operation, such as: Phan Boi Chau Memorial Site, King Mai's Tomb and Temple, La Son Phu Tu Nguyen Thiep's Tomb, Kim Lien Historical - Cultural Relic Site Conservation and Restoration Project associated with tourism development... The district also mobilized capital from socialization to preserve and renovate relics such as Dai Tue Pagoda, Vien Quang Pagoda...

In addition to paying attention to the restoration, renovation and embellishment of historical and cultural relics to attract tourists, Nam Dan also focuses on propaganda and promotion by organizing well major annual festivals such as: Mai King Festival, Sen Village Festival..., thereby creating opportunities to call for investment in tourism development for the district; building special topics and reports such as "Nam Dan Destination", "Nam Dan Countryside Love", "Nam Dan - Monuments and Landscapes", "Dai Tue Pagoda Buddhist Cultural Festival"... posted on mass media; participating in exhibitions, fairs, culinary culture festivals, organizing travel business conferences, surveying and building tours in the district; printing and publishing 2,000 VCDs, 10,000 brochures on Nam Dan tourism; upgrading the district's electronic information portal, thereby clearly introducing cultural heritage to domestic and foreign tourists.

In the coming time, to exploit the potential and strengths of tourism, Nam Dan has a policy of prioritizing and attracting businesses to invest in the following areas: Travel businesses invest in transportation and design tours within the district, thereby promoting and linking with travel businesses inside and outside the province to bring tourists to visit Nam Dan district; Businesses invest in building a system of restaurants, hotels, and entertainment areas that meet standards; Companies specializing in the production of handicrafts and souvenirs; processing traditional products to serve tourists; Businesses plan and invest in infrastructure and services to develop the "homestay" tourism model.

PV:Thanks comrade!

Thanh Thuy

(Perform)