Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Quan The Am (Avalokitesvara) Festival 2023 on Wednesday evening, Da Nang People’s Committee Vice Chairwoman cum Head of the festival’s organising board Ngo Thi Kim Yen affirmed that the festival was not only an attractive destination for domestic tourists, but also an opportunity for international tourists to experience and learn about the spiritual values imbued with Buddhist culture and history of Viet Nam.

Da Nang People’s Committee Vice Chairwoman Ngo Thi Kim Yen speaking at the opening ceremony of the Quan The Am Festival 2023

She added that after a long hiatus due to the COVID-19, this year's festival took place in the atmosphere of welcoming cultural events to celebrate the 48^th anniversary of the Liberation of Da Nang (March 29) and receive a certificate of recognition of ‘ma nhai’ (Inscriptions) as a documentary heritage under the UNESCO Memory of the World for the Asia-Pacific Region Programme.

“The Quan The Am Festival is the crystallisation of the values of Buddhist culture, and people and the land of the Marble Mountains tourist area. Also, it is a place of convergence, and cultural exchange and enjoyment of the sophistication and richness of various national cultural art forms in the world” she added.

A set of 16 unique porcelain paintings was awarded a certificate of Vietnamese Record duirng the opening ceremony of the festival

According to Mrs. Kim Yen, this year's festival is organised more professionally and systematically in order to introduce the festival to a large number of residents and tourists, and create more cultural bridges with countries with similar Buddhist culture.

During the opening ceremony, the set of 16 unique porcelain paintings was awarded a certificate of Vietnamese Record. The Institute of Unique Creations awarded an independent licence to the largest 24K gold-plated Bodhi leaf of Avalokitesvara Temple.

This year’s Quan The Am Festival takes place from March 8 - 10 (the 17th to 19th days of the second lunar month) in the campus of the Quan The Am Pagoda, and along Su Van Hanh and Le Van Hien roads.

The 3-day event features a number of solemn Buddhist rituals and a wide range of exciting cultural activities within the framework of the festival, hereby facilitating visitors gain an deeper insight into Buddhist culture and types of the traditional arts, as well as join in cultural exchanges with international friends, especially those from Buddhist countries.

Reporting by X.DUNG, Q.CUONG - Translating by M.DUNG