Numerous festivals kick off amid Tet atmosphereThe Bai Dinh Pagoda Festival officially opened in Gia Vien district in the northern province of Ninh Binh on February 21 (the sixth day of the first lunar month), with the attendance of Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam. The original 1,000 year-old Bai Dinh Pagoda (Bai Dinh Co Tu) is part of the Trang An Landscape Complex which was recognised as a world Cultural and Natural Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).The pagoda is composed of temples worshipping Buddha, the Mountain God, and the Mother Goddess of the Forest. It lies about 800 metres from the Tam The Temple of the new Bai Dinh Pagoda area. The pagoda festival will last until the end of March. The same day, a ceremony was held at Huong Pagoda in Hanoi’s My Duc district to kick off the pagoda festival and receive a certificate recognising the Huong Son (Huong Pagoda) landscape and historical site complex as a special national relic site.