A performance at Marble Mountains Avalokitesvara Festival. Photo: Tran Le Lam/VNA

The festival, which takes place  from the 17th to 19th  day of the 2nd lunar calendar, features cultural, sports, beliefs and religious activities. They include the worshiping of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, incense offering in memory of Princess Huyen Tran, spring sacrifice ceremony to pray for national peace and prosperity, contest of rock carving art, and hot air balloon performance. 

There will be lectures on the value of Ma Nhai, steles with writings on Da Nang Marble Mountains, which has been recognized as heritage documentary under the Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific. 

Ngo Thi Kim Yen, Vice Chairwoman of Da Nang City People's Committee, said: “The Marble Mountains Avalokitesvara Festival has become one of the major festivals for monks and nuns, Buddhists in particular, and the people of Da Nang city. This event crystallizes Buddhist cultural values and Marble Mountains land and people."

"The festival is always an attractive destination for domestic and international tourists to learn about the spiritual values imbued with the history and culture of Buddhism in Vietnam,” she said.