Traditional rice cooking festival captivates locals and tourists in Hanoi
The Phan Tay Nhac Festival is held on the 8th day of the first Lunar month to honor the late General Phan Tay Nhac, a renowned military leader during the reign of the 18th Hung King. The festival features four teams dressed in different colors, competing in various events including firewood gathering, sprinting, rice pounding, and rice cooking. Once the rice is cooked, it is presented outside the village communal house for public judging in front of the villagers and team members. The cooked rice pots are then offered as a tribute to the village patron. The festival attracts a large number of locals and tourists, creating a vibrant atmosphere. The teams are divided into four groups, each wearing a different color to distinguish themselves. Traditional farming tools such as wooden pestles and stone mortars are assigned to each team to use during the festival. The firewood gathering ritual begins precisely at 11 o’clock. The participants arrange bundles of dry grass alongside s...