TL;DR: The Tiên Công Festival is a traditional festival of residents on Hà Nam Island, Quảng Ninh province, held from the 4th to the 7th day of the first lunar month, with the 7th as the main day. Its highlight is the rite of carrying the elderly, the longevity procession: elders aged 80, 90, and 100 are carried by their descendants in red hammocks and palanquins to the Tiên Công shrine to report to their forebears. The festival commemorates the Tiên Công who built sea dykes and founded villages, and was recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2017.
When and where does the Tiên Công Festival take place?
The Tiên Công Festival is a traditional festival of residents on Hà Nam Island, Quảng Ninh province, held annually during Tết Nguyên Dan (Lunar New Year). According to Báo Quảng Ninh, the festival begins on the 4th and lasts until the 7th day of the first lunar month, with the 7th being the most crowded and vibrant main day[1]. Báo Thanh Niên in 2026 also recorded that the festival is held from the 5th to the 7th day of the first lunar month annually at the Tiên Công Shrine National Relic Site[2]. Thus, the sources agree on the festival period, differing only in the starting point mentioned.
The festival space spreads across Phong Cốc, Phong Hải, and Yên Hải wards and Cẩm La commune, centered on the Tiên Công Shrine relic in Cẩm La commune along with the clan ancestral halls of the Tiên Công families that have been ranked as national relics[1]. Báo Thanh Niên in 2026 recorded that the Tiên Công Shrine belongs to Phong Cốc ward, Quảng Ninh province (before July 2025 it belonged to Quảng Yên town)[2]. VOV1 in 2025 also recorded the festival area as comprising four wards: Phong Cốc, Phong Hải, Yên Hải, and Cẩm La, under Quảng Yên town[3]. The different ways sources record place names reflect both old administrative names and names used after reorganization; readers should cross-check according to the date of each article.
Who is worshipped at the Tiên Công Shrine?
The Tiên Công Shrine worships 17 Tiên Công, the first people to build sea dykes and reclaim land to establish the villages of Phong Cốc, Cẩm La, Yên Đông, and Trung Bản[1]. According to stele inscriptions and genealogies cited by Báo Quảng Ninh, from around 1434 to 1500, 17 Tiên Công from Kim Hoa ward (now Kim Liên ward), Thọ Xương district, Hoài Đức prefecture, Thăng Long citadel, together with their families, followed the Red River downstream to the Bạch Đằng estuary to seek a livelihood[1]. Initially they lived on boats catching shrimp and fish, then stopped at a tidal flat, cleared the land, converted it into rice fields, and founded villages[1].
The list of 17 Tiên Công recorded by Báo Quảng Ninh includes: Vũ Song, Vũ Hồng Tiệm, Bùi Huy Ngoạn, Ngô Bách Đoan, Nguyễn Phúc Cốc, Nguyễn Phúc Thắng, Nguyễn Phúc Vinh, Lê Khép, Lê Mở, Vũ Tam Tỉnh, Vũ Giai, Nguyễn Nghệ, Nguyễn Thực, Bùi Bách Niên, Phạm Việt, Dương Quang Tín, Dương Quang Tấn. Two figures, Hoàng Nông and Hoàng Nênh from Trà Lý (Nam Định), are recorded as the Tiên Công who cleared land to found Trung Bản village, later merged into Phong Lưu commune[1].
How is the legend of the Tiên Công founding villages told?
The story of how the Tiên Công discovered fresh water and decided to stop and found villages is passed down among the people of Hà Nam Island. According to the account recorded by Báo Quảng Ninh, one night, the group took shelter on a raised mound of the tidal flat, heard frogs croaking, knew this place had fresh water, and decided to stop and reclaim the land[1]. This interpretation has the color of legend explaining the origin of villages; it is not verified historical documentation and should be read as part of community memory. The trace mentioned is a freshwater pond about 1,000m west of the Tiên Công Shrine, called "Hồ Mạch" by the locals[1].
How does the Tiên Công Festival proceed?
The rituals of the Tiên Công Festival take place in sequence from the 4th to the end of the main day, tied to each Tiên Công clan and to the Tiên Công Shrine. The table below summarizes the sequence according to Báo Quảng Ninh's records.
| Day | Ritual | Location | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4th of the first month | Lễ Ra co ho, also called Le te To (ancestral offering) | Clan ancestral hall of the Tiên Công | Family of the elder, clan council |
| 5th of the first month | Preparation of longevity celebration: decorating the grounds, brocade robes, scarves embroidered with the character for longevity, longevity staffs | At home | Descendants in families with elderly parents reaching longevity age |
| 6th of the first month | Longevity celebration for the elder at home; some families organize a procession carrying the elder in a red hammock to the Tiên Công Shrine for ancestral worship, called Ruoc tho, Ruoc nguoi | At home and at the Tiên Công Shrine | Family, clan, villagers |
| 7th of the first month | Main festival: carrying elders to the shrine to report; the custom of quan tram sons-in-law receiving fathers-in-law; the rite of elders building dykes and wrestling; the closing ceremony at noon | Tiên Công Shrine and roads in the area | Elders, descendants, ritual delegation representing the Four Communes, residents and visitors |
What is the meaning of Lễ Ra co ho on the 4th of the first month?
Lễ Ra co ho, or Le te To, is held by the Tiên Công clans on the 4th day of the first lunar month, and according to Báo Quảng Ninh this is the largest ritual at the Tiên Công ancestral halls during the year[1]. The elder's family brings offerings to both paternal and maternal clan halls to respectfully report to the Tiên Công and ancestors who bestowed blessings for the elder to reach the longevity seat, and to inform the clan council that this year the elder reaches longevity age and invite the clan council to the longevity celebration at home[1]. As recorded, this ceremony is both a prayer for the Tiên Công and ancestors to bless descendants with a prosperous new year, and an occasion to offer to the Tiên Công and ancestors at the ancestral hall, and also a clan festival day[1].
What is prepared on the 5th and 6th of the first month?
On the 5th of the first month, descendants in families with elderly parents reaching longevity age prepare to decorate the family grounds according to traditional longevity celebration rites, prepare brocade robes, scarves embroidered with the character for longevity, and longevity staffs for their parents, along with tables, chairs, and offerings for the next day's home longevity ceremony[1]. On the 6th of the first month, families that do not organize a procession carrying the elder to the Tiên Công Shrine organize a ritual delegation to escort the elder to the shrine to worship the ancestors and give thanks to the Tiên Công[1]. Families with means join with their clan and villagers to organize a procession carrying the elder in a red hammock to the Tiên Công Shrine for ancestral worship, called the Ruoc tho, Ruoc nguoi rite[1]. Preparation of offerings, ceremonial objects, costumes, music teams, and red hammocks and palanquins for the procession is carried out months before the festival[1].
Why is it called the festival of carrying the elderly, the longevity procession?
The rite of carrying the elderly, the longevity procession, is the most unique highlight of the Tiên Công Festival. According to Báo Quảng Ninh, this is the most unique rite in the whole country, expressing reverence and honoring of the Tiên Công and carrying deep cultural identity of residents of the Bạch Đằng estuary[1]. Elders reaching longevity age are carried to the shrine to report to their forebears, in traditional costumes, formal ao dai, and khan xep headpieces, escorted by their descendants in red hammocks or gilded palanquins[2]. According to VOV1, elders exactly 80, 90, and 100 years old are carried on dragon palanquins and red hammocks, parading solemnly amid festival drums and the joy of generations of descendants[3].
Elderly residents in the area recount that living amid harsh nature, constantly fighting natural disasters and storms, longevity is extremely precious, so when elders reach 80, 90, or 100 years old, their clan and family organize a procession to the Tiên Công Shrine to report to the ancestors, considering it a great blessing of the family and clan[3]. This rite is preserved and promoted by the people of Hà Nam Island and has become a festival with the spiritual value of remembering the source when drinking water[3].
What is the custom of quan tram, sons-in-law receiving fathers-in-law?
Another unique feature that gives the Tiên Công Festival its own identity is the custom of quan tram, sons-in-law. According to Báo Thanh Niên, along the procession route, families with married daughters set up solemn rest stations to receive fathers-in-law reaching longevity age; sons-in-law respectfully offer tea, betel, and longevity wishes, expressing gratitude and filial respect to their wives' parents[2]. The newspaper also recorded the case of Mr. Ngô Đình Dùng (55 years old, Quảng Yên ward) who carefully prepared a rest station to receive his father-in-law, Mr. Vũ Văn Hài (90 years old), in a space decorated with flags and flowers, respectfully offering tea and inviting him to rest before the procession continued to the shrine[2].
The rite of dyke building and wrestling by the elders
After the Tiên Công ceremony, villagers invite two still-healthy elders to the front of the Tiên Công Shrine to perform the dyke-building rite. Villagers build a small symbolic dyke in front of the shrine, prepare square-cut clods of earth for the elders to place on the dyke; this rite is also called the ground-breaking ceremony[1]. After this rite, families and villages may dig canals, repair dykes, and plow; previously, families with a death during Tet also had to wait until after the ground-breaking ceremony to hold funerals and dig graves[1].
Next, the elders perform the wrestling rite: the two elders only make the motion of winding around a few times, then hug and spin once or twice; whichever elder is strong enough to lift the other off the ground wins[1]. As recorded, the dyke-building and wrestling rites of the elders carry the meaning of reminding and educating descendants to exercise, build dykes, do irrigation, and fight rainstorms and rising tides to protect the village and the ancestral worship halls of their forebears[1].
What activities are in the festive portion?
Besides the ritual portion, the festive portion of the Tiên Công Festival is also rich with cultural activities and folk games: swinging, cockfighting, human chess, to tom diem cards, dum singing, wrestling, and dyke building[1]. According to Báo Quảng Ninh, the festival meets the needs of community cultural life, spiritual life, education in the tradition of remembering the source when drinking water, and the entertainment needs of the people at the start of spring[1]. At noon on the main day, the ritual delegation representing the Four Communes holds the closing ceremony, ending the festival[1].
When was the Tiên Công Festival recognized as heritage?
The Tiên Công Festival on Hà Nam Island was recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2017, according to Decision 1852/QD-BVHTTDL dated May 8, 2017[1][3]. According to Báo Quảng Ninh, the festival has been preserved and promoted by the people for over 300 years, and holding it annually has become a unique tourism product of Quảng Yên[1].
Number of elders participating in the festival over the years
The number of elders participating in the procession varies each year. According to Báo Thanh Niên, at Tet Bính Ngọ in 2026, about 250 elderly people respectfully called cu Thuong participated in the procession, including 7 exactly 100 years old (1 man, 6 women), 35 at 90 (16 men, 19 women), and the rest turning 80[2]. According to VOV1, the 2025 Tiên Công Festival took place from the 5th to the 7th of the first month of the Ất Tỵ year, that is, from February 2 to 4, 2025; at the main festival, more than 100 elders reaching exactly 80, 90, and 100 years old came to the Tiên Công Shrine to lead the ceremony[3]. Also according to VOV1, in spring 2025 Quảng Yên town had more than 3,360 elderly people given longevity wishes, including 32 exactly 100 years old congratulated by the President and 350 exactly 90, 95, and over 100 years old[3].
What changed in the 2025 Tiên Công Festival?
A new feature of the 2025 Tiên Công Festival was that most families performed collective processions instead of individual processions as in many previous years[3]. Collective processions were organized by ward and commune and entered the shrine in turn, offering offerings, incense, flowers, and bowing to the Tiên Công; offerings are in odd numbers and must include roasted pig, banh day, flowers, fruit, and local agricultural products[3]. Mr. Nguyễn Thế Nhâm, Chairman of the People's Committee of Phong Cốc ward, said this was the first year the ward organized a collective procession, the State supported 50 million VND for a collective procession, with the rest mobilized from socialized resources, because if a family organized its own procession the cost would be about 150 to 200 million VND[3]. Mrs. Dương Thị Dung, Head of the Organizing Committee of the 2025 Tiên Công Festival, said that year marked 591 years since the Tiên Công founded villages and hamlets, and Quảng Yên town assigned the People's Committee of Cẩm La commune to chair the festival[3].
