The 10th day of the third lunar month (falling on April 9 this year) is the death anniversary of the Hung Kings, ancestors of the Vietnamese people. The ceremony was solemnly held at the Hung Kings’ Temple, in Phu Tho.

It is a traditional ritual, one that is said to exemplify a guiding moral principle in Vietnamese culture: “When drinking water, remember its source”.

From early morning, thousands of visitors flocked to the temple to offer incense to the Hung Kings.

After the offering of incense, participants are allowed to enter the temple.

Many people held boxes of offerings on their heads for hours and they could not inch up.

Many people sit down along the way.

The elderly who were faint are taken to a mobile health station.

A baby boy is carried by a policeman to the temple.

Some people take roasted pigs to the temple.

Kids are held by their parents to avoid trampling.

The Upper Temple is dense.

The festival organizing committee says more than a million visitors go to the Hung King’s Temple on the day.