The Pilgrim’s tales
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Tens of thousands of pilgrims are jostling, pushing, and littering up the sacred place at the Huong Pagoda in Hanoi as the famous Huong Pagoda Festival opens Tuesday, to last three months.
The pagoda, in My Duc District, is a cultural and historical relic of Vietnam and according to traditions, on the sixth day of the lunar New Year which is today, people would arrive at the pagoda to pray for wellness and fortune.
Huong pagoda is not one temple but a cluster of temples and shrines in the general vicinity of Huong Mountain, built during the reign of Le Chinh Hoa (1680 -1705), by a monk.
Other shrines and temples were later built in this area to take advantage of the beautiful scenery.
Tuoi Tre captures chaotic images around the site today:
A large crowd of pilgrims jostle to the entrance gate of Thien Tru Pagoda – one of many sites belonging to Huong Pagoda to lay their offerings to the gods for fortune
Some shop owners offer odd service by charging VND2,000 – 10,000 for each pilgrim to use their shops as shortcuts to the pilgrimage site
After squeezing in to visit some locations, visitors take a rest and start to throw away garbage
Many young people try to enter a sacred site to pray by climbing over a hedge
Children buy violent toys on their pilgrimage path
Many jostled and waited up to 2 hours for their turn to take a cable car to the Huong Tich Cave – lying midway on the side of Huong Tich Mountain and 400m above sea level
