This year due to the coronavirus disease (COVID19) pandemic, the annual three-day Quan The Am (Avalokitecvara) Festival, one of Viet Nam’s biggest Buddhist events, will be cancelled amid fears over the spread of COVID-19. 

A scene of the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Statue procession, which is the most eagerly anticipated ritual during the Quan The Am Festival

This year’s event was scheduled to take place at Ngu Hanh Son District's Quan The Am Pagoda located in the Marble Mountains Tourist Area from 29 – 31 March (the 17^th - 19^th days of the 2^nd lunar month).

More recently, the festival has won the national Intangible Cultural Heritage status in Viet Nam following the approval by Vietnamese Minister of Culture - Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien.

The Quan The Am Festival  is one of the most eagerly anticipated spiritual cultural events for Buddhists and non- Buddhists across from Da Nang and elsewhere in the country. It aims to meet the cultural, spiritual and religious needs of the locals, and it is a good opportunity to advertise the city’s tourism images to domestic and foreign visitors.

Meanwhile, all religious establishments based in Ngu Hanh Son District are banned from organising cultural, physical training and sports activities which attract large numbers of participants.

By LE PHAM- Translated by A.T