Nguyen Huu Tuyen, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Bac Tu Liem District, delivered the opening speech of the Festival.
Located at the northwestern gateway of the capital, Bac Tu Liem District is home to numerous cultural heritages, rich in quantity and diverse in type. The district currently has 135 relics, 35 intangible cultural heritages (of which 63 relics are recognized by the State as historical and cultural sites), and thousands of valuable artifacts and antiques preserved at these sites. In recent years, recognizing the importance of cultural heritage, Bac Tu Liem District has consistently focused on leadership and guidance to properly preserve, protect, and promote the value of cultural heritages – considering this an important task and one of the driving forces shaping the district’s identity and internal strength in its process of construction and development.
Situated along the Hong River – a symbol of wet-rice civilization – the Special National Relic Dinh Chem is a sacred place of worship and belief for the people of three villages: Hoang, Mac, and Chem.
Luu Ngoc Ha, Secretary of the District Party Committee and Chairman of the Bac Tu Liem District People’s Council, struck the drum to inaugurate the Festival.
Dinh Chem (also known as Chem Temple, Ly Hieu Uy Temple, or Thuy Huong Tu) worships Duc Thanh Chem (also called Duc Hy Khang Thien Vuong Ly ong Trong) along with Hoang phi Bach Tinh Cung. Duc ong Ly Ong Trong was born in Chem Village and served as an official during the Hung Vuong and An Duong Vuong dynasties; he not only defended the country in both reigns but also assisted King Qin in suppressing the Xiongnu invaders. On the Nom script stele at Dinh Chem (compiled by Dr. Nghiem Xuan Quang in the second year of the Khai Dinh reign), the merits of Duc Thanh Chem and the eternal mountains and rivers are inscribed: “Since ancient times, our ancestors have said: ‘First is the Co Loa Festival, second is the Giong Festival, third is the Chem Festival.” The traditional Dinh Chem Festival, also called the Phap Festival, is held annually from the 14th to the 16th day of the fifth lunar month to honor the merits of Duc Thanh Chem, as well as to pay tribute to and remember the warriors who sacrificed their lives for the country.
In his opening speech at the Dinh Chem Festival, Nguyen Huu Tuyen, Chairman of the Bac Tu Liem District People’s Committee, emphasized: “Through the close combination of the village guardian deity worship with the ancient beliefs of agricultural communities, the Dinh Chem Festival holds a particularly important role in the spiritual and cultural life of the people of the three villages Chem, Hoang, and Mac in particular, and the residents of Bac Tu Liem District in general; it is a creative product reflecting community cohesion. The cultural identity expressed in the Dinh Chem Festival has been and continues to be preserved, practiced, and passed down from generation to generation, with a strong influence on the cultural life of the local people.”
The 2025 Traditional Dinh Chem Festival is organized at the district level and takes place over three days, from June 9 to June 11, 2025 (corresponding to the 14th, 15th, and 16th days of the fifth lunar month in the year At Ty). The Festival features typical activities such as: water processions on the Hong River, ceremonial parade of sacred documents, wooden bath ritual, bird release ceremony (pigeon release); competitions in cooking sweet soup, swimming contests, human chess, To Tom card game, cultural and artistic exchanges…
To ensure the Festival is organized safely, economically, and in compliance with regulations, Thuy Phuong and Lien Mac Wards and the Festival Organizing Committee have strengthened propaganda and mobilization efforts, raising public awareness and responsibility to comply with state regulations on Festival organization; preventing superstitious practices and disguised gambling; ensuring stable prices of goods and services, environmental hygiene, food safety, fire prevention, and the safety of participants during the Festival.
Van Lam