Blue plate cars line up for Yen Tu festival

Although Hanoi and many other provinces have banned the use of public vehicles to attend festivals, on the opening day of Yen Tu festival on February 9, a number of blue-plate cars appeared in the parking lot.

On the morning of February 9, the Yen Tu Spring Festival 2014 officially opened with the participation of many delegates and tourists from all over the world. The flow of people to the "Buddhist Capital of Vietnam" was so great that the roads leading to the cable car, Giai Oan Pagoda, Hoa Yen Pagoda, and Dong Pagoda were congested. The parking lot of the Yen Tu Spring Festival was packed to the brim. Cars had to line up on both sides of the road leading to the pagoda.

At the non-priority parking lot, there were some blue-plate cars from provinces such as Hanoi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Hai Duong, Bac Giang... These cars did not have the Organizing Committee's badge.

Blue-plate cars are parked along the road to Yen Tu and scattered in car parks. Photo: Quynh Trang.

The organizing committee coordinated with the police, army and local authorities to arrange 300 officers and soldiers to be stationed at many points along the pilgrimage route, on duty 24/7 during the festival. According to VnExpress, apart from a pickpocketing incident at Dong Pagoda, security and order on the opening day were relatively secure. Street vendors and beggars were also "clean" as promised by the organizing committee. Although the service of exchanging small change is strictly prohibited, it still appears in some places along the route and at rest stops.

On the morning of the festival, the road to the pagodas in Yen Tu was quite clean. However, after noon, raincoats, plastic bags, boxes... were strewn all over the pagoda yard and along the pilgrimage route, even though the entire Yen Tu route had more than 500 baskets and 100 plastic bins for garbage.

Dong Pagoda, a place where people are often crowded and jostling to burn incense. Photo: Quynh Trang.

Mr. Nguyen Trung Hai - Head of the Management Board of Yen Tu Monuments and Landscapes Complex said that on February 9 alone, there were over 65,000 visitors. The cable car system will operate 24/7 to serve pilgrims.

Although the cable car ticket price has 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 convenient travel," said the head of the committee.

According to vnexrpess