Coming soon: Hùng Kings Temple will be built on Trường Sa (Spratlys) Archipelago next year. Photo tuoitre.vn

Viet Nam News

HÀ NỘI – A Hùng Kings Temple will be built on Trường Sa (Spratly) Archipelago with the aim of spreading Hùng Kings worship and paying tribute to the ancestors of Vietnamese people.

The Hùng Kings Cultural Development and Research Centre will be in charge of the construction.

“The centre was founded aiming to research cultural values under the Hùng Kings’ era,” said Phạm Văn Dần, director of the centre.

“We have wanted to build the temples on islands far from the mainland for a long time,” he said.

“This will raise people’s patriotism, connect people on islands to the mainland and stress national sovereignty.”

Hùng Kings temples have been built in various regions across the country except islands.

The construction includes a temple worshipping Hùng Kings and national heroes, an 18-storey tower representing 18 Hùng Kings and other auxiliary buildings.

Besides Trường Sa Archipelago, the centre also submitted a plan to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to build a Hùng Kings Temple on Phú Quốc Island, the southern province of Kiên Giang. Construction will start next year with funds raised from individuals and organisations.

On the same day, the centre set up its official website atvanhoahungvuong.com.vn where updates on the Hùng Kings temples’ construction as well as historical information about Hùng Kings worship can be found.

The Hùng Kings were the founders of Văn Lang, the first Vietnamese-identity kingdom dated back to 2879 BC. Annually, millions of people converge on the Hùng Kings Temple at Nghĩa Lĩnh Mountain in the northern province of Phú Thọ to commemorate their ancestors and pray for good weather, abundant harvests, good luck and good health. -- VNS