According to the head of thesite’s management board Nguyen Khac Minh, the relic area welcomed atleast 15,000 visitors a day. Particularly, more than 50,000 visitorsarrived in the area to attend the 2014 Con Son-Kiep Bac spring festivalfrom February 13-16.
Con Son-Kiep Bac was recognised as a national heritage site in 1962 and a special national heritage site in 2012.
Last year, the Con Son-Kiep Bac spring and autumn festivals received national intangible cultural heritage status.
Covering an area of more than 8 hectares in Chi Linh town, the ConSon-Kiep Bac historical site is closely associated with the lives andcareers of Tran Hung Dao and writer Nguyen Trai (1380-1442), who wasrecognised as a Great Man of Culture of the World.
Tran HungDao, whose real name is Tran Quoc Tuan, acted as the Supreme Commanderof Vietnam during the Tran Dynasty, leading Vietnamese troops to repelthree major Mongolian invasions in the 13th century. The Mongolssucceeded in conquering most of Central Asia and Eastern Europe, butnever got a foothold in Dai Viet (as Vietnam was then called).
He died on September 5, 1300 at the age of 70. A temple called KiepBac was built in Hai Duong province to remember him.
TheKiep Bac temple festival is held annually to commemorate and pay tributeto national hero Tran Hung Dao in the eighth month of the lunar year(from September 8-13, 2014).
This year’s Con Son – Kiep Bacspring festival marked the 680th death anniversary of Huyen Quang TonGia (1334-2014), the third progenitor of Truc Lam Zen Buddhism, andhonoured Zen Buddhism’s great contribution to the unity of religions andnational protection as well.-VNA