This year’s three-day Quan The Am (Avalokitecvara) Festival in Da Nang, one of Viet Nam’s biggest Buddhist events, will be temporarily suspended amid fears over the spread of COVID-19 following an official dispatch released by the local administration.

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

However, the festival’s organisers will be allowed to hold certain belief and religious rituals if any with the scale reduction and the adjustments to both time and forms of organisation in a bid to minimise gatherings of people.

Since 2020, in order to limit the spread of COVID-19, this annual festival has been suspended.

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.

Reporting by XUAN DUNG – Translating by A. THU