On the morning of March 23, at Hoang Cong Chat Temple ( Noong Het Commune, Dien Bien District, Dien Bien Province), the Ban Phu City Festival took place with the participation of thousands of people and tourists. The festival is held on February 24-25 (lunar calendar) every year on the anniversary of the general's death.
This is an occasion to commemorate the gratitude of the cloth hero Hoang Cong Chat, real name Hoang Cong Thu (from Vu Thu district, Thai Binh province) who, together with General Ngai and General Khanh (2 leaders of the Thai ethnic group in Dien Bien), led the people of all ethnic groups to chase the Pe army and liberate Muong Thanh (Dien Bien) in May 1754.
To have a basis for long-term activities, Hoang Cong Chat built Thanh Ban Phu, followed by the peasant uprising led by him that lasted for 30 years (1739 - 1769).
Hoang Cong Chat has gathered the ethnic groups of Hung Hoa region into a unified bloc, building a love of solidarity going back and forth to fight against the enemy to protect the country and protect the mountains and forests in the border area of the Fatherland.
Mr. Nguyen Thai Binh - Chairman of Dien Bien District People's Committee - said: "Coming to this year's Festival, people and tourists will be immersed in a unique spiritual and cultural space with traditional rituals, showing respect for General Hoang Cong Chat, the heroic monks associated with Muong Thanh and Dien Bien rivers and mountains".
The Ban Phu City Festival (also known as the Hoang Cong Chat Temple Festival) takes place with the following rituals: offerings, festival drums, wish wishes for the death of General Hoang Cong Chat, incense offering ceremony and the "Memory of gratitude to General Hoang Cong Chat" offering.
In 1981 and 1994, Ban Phu relics and Hoang Cong Chat temple were ranked and recognized as National Historical and Cultural Relics. In 2016, Ban Phu Thanh Festival was recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.
