The Perfume (Huong) Pagoda and some shrines in Huong Son complex, a special national relic site in My Duc District will officially welcome visitors from the 16th day of the first lunar month, which falls on February 16, 2022.

The festival of Perfume (Huong) Pagoda always draws large numbers of pilgrims from across Vietnam. Photo: Duy Khanh

To ensure the safety of visits to the relic, Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Chu Xuan Dung assigned the municipal Department of Culture and Sports to build guidelines for prevention and control the spread of coronavirus in the locality in coordination with the Department of Health.

“The reopening of the relic and its festival must be organized in line with the city’s Covid-19 preventive measures in public places”, according to Dung.

Previously, on January 25, My Duc District People’s Committee announced that the Perfume Pagoda Festival could not be held as scheduled due to the spread of the Omicron variant. No travelers and pilgrims would not be allowed to visit the Huong Son Relic-Scenic Area.

Normally, the festival starts off in Huong Son Commune, on the sixth day of the lunar new year and lasts for three months.

Visiting the Huong Pagoda complex during the festival is a spiritual journey to the Buddhist Land. Visitors take tours to pagodas, temples, and caves which are the main attractions, and join ceremonies to ask for blessings from Buddha.

Aside from its religious significance, the complex also holds special values in terms of ecosystem, landscape, architecture, and history. The Huong Son complex was listed among national special relic sites in December 2017.

Quang Ninh’s tourism to welcome 1.5 million foreigners this year

The vivid Ha Long Carnival 2019. Photo: Quang Ninh Tourism

According to Vice Chairwoman of Quang Ninh People’s Committee Nguyen Thi Hanh, the province strives to quickly and sustainably recover the local tourism by welcoming between 9.53 million to 10 million visitors, including 1.5 million foreigners in 2022.

As the province has the highest coverage of booster Covid-19 vaccine shots in Vietnam, local authorities hope that Quang Ninh would be able to attract a large number of domestic and international tourists this year.

It is expected that the province will welcome about 3.5 million visitors in the first quarter of 2022 and 2.5 million, 3 million, and 2 million visitors respectively in the second, third, and fourth quarters.

According to Hanh, Quang Ninh will focus on drawing tourists from traditional markets such as Korea, Japan, among others.

Besides, provincial typical tourism products such as Ha Long Carnival, Ha Long Circus Festival, Ao Dai Festival; Overnight tours on Ha Long Bay, Night Town, among others will be fully resumed in the coming time. Many regular and new routes to Van Don International Airport will also be opened as soon as possible.

However, ensuring strict adherence to measures to prevent and control the Covid-19 pandemic remains a top priority in Quang Ninh province, according to Hanh.