On March 4, at the stone yard of Con Son Pagoda, the Organizing Committee of the Con Son - Kiep Bac Spring Festival 2026 held the opening ceremony of the Chung Cake and Gioi Cake Contest.
The activity attracted a large number of local artisans to participate, creating an exciting emulation atmosphere but still maintaining the solemnity of a traditional ritual.
In the banh chung wrapping competition, each team has 5 artisans wearing festival costumes. In 15 minutes, the teams complete 10 banh chung, including 5 savory banh chung (green bean and pork filling, tied with 6 strings) and 5 vegetarian banh chung (green bean filling, tied with 4 strings).
All are hand-packed, without using molds. Ingredients include 6.8 kg of sticky rice (calculated after soaking, draining water), 1.5 kg of peeled green beans, cooked; 0.8 kg of chopped pork with spices. The cake after being packed is boiled continuously for 6 hours, firewood prepared by the Organizing Committee.
In the afternoon, the banh giay pounding competition took place with 6 artisans each team. In 50 minutes, the teams performed all stages from making sticky rice, pounding banh chung to molding and completing 5 round, even, uniformly sized banh chung.
The used sticky rice must be large, round grains, not mixed with plain rice; the weight after soaking is 6.8 kg. The organizers requested not to light the fire first and not to use chemicals to light the fire. After completion, the surface of the cake is pasted with red Sino-Nom characters "Phuc", "Loc", "Tho".
The contest has been maintained for many years, towards the National Hung Kings Commemoration Ceremony, expressing gratitude to national heroes such as Tran Hung Dao, Nguyen Trai and the Three Ancestors of Truc Lam.
The prize-winning cakes will be offered at Con Son Pagoda and relic sites in the complex, praying for national peace and prosperity, and favorable weather.
