Ly Cong Uan, or King Ly Thai To, was the first King of Vietnam’s Ly Dynasty lasting from 1010 to 1225. He was the founder of Thang Long capital city, now Hanoi.

Den Do was built under the Ly Dynasty in 1030 in Chau Co Phap village (now Dinh Bang village), in Tu Son district, where King Ly Thai To was born. The temple was to dedicated to the King and then his seven successors.

King Ly’s descendants from the Republic of Korea have returned to join local descendants and thousands of pilgrims in the festival, which annually takes place on the 14th-16th day of the third lunar month (which falls on April 19-21 this year) with the main rituals on the 15th day.

The Ly family from the RoK is descendants of prince Ly Long Tuong, seventh son of Ly Anh Tong (1138-1175), who had to leave the homeland in 1226 to avoid a bloodshed made by the Tran Dynasty who took the throne from the Ly Dynasty.

The ceremony started with a procession of eight tablets of eight Kings Ly from Dan pagoda (Co Phap pagoda) to Den Do for incense offering.

The festival also includes Quan Ho folk songs and many competitions, such as cooking, wrestling, chess playing, cock fighting and pigeon releasing.