photos show huong pagoda quiet following reopening picture 1
The Huong Pagoda festival has been permitted to reopen in Hanoi’s My Duc district, starting on March 13, following the containment of the latest coronavirus outbreak.
Despite the outbreak brought under control, COVID-19 prevention and control measures remain in place to ensure the safety of visitors.
Hundreds of boats dock at the wharf in order to take visitors along the Yen stream to Huong Pagoda.
All boats operating along the stream are fully equipped with lifebuoys in order to guarantee the safety of visitors.
Visitors to the site are required to reduce their visiting time and keeping a reasonable distance between one another.
A total of 650 on-duty officers have been mobilised to ensure social order and security, as well as to provide safety guidance for all pilgrims.
COVID-19 checkpoints have been established at entrances tothe Complex of Huong Son Historical Relic Site to monitor and remind pilgrims to fill out a health declaration form online or done a face mask.
The admission fee is VND80,000 per person, while the ticket price for elderly people and children is halved.
A two–way boat ticket costs between VND35,000 and VND50,000 per person.
Parking charges for motorcycles range between VND5,000 and VND12,000.
Huong Pagoda is made up of a complex of pagodas and Buddhist shrines which have been built into the limestone cliffs of the Huong Mountain.
The festival is among the greatest Buddhist rituals in northern Vietnam and typically lasts for three months between the first and the third month of the lunar calendar.
Originally, the local administration had decided not to organise the annual opening ceremony for this year’s festival due to COVID-19 fears.