Pilgrimages from all parts of the country offering incense sticks in homage to the Hung Kings at the Upper Temple.   The procession of the banh chung (sticky rice square cake) at the anniversary. The death anniversary of the Hung Kings held in 1904. Singing folk songs during the anniversary:  An avenue named after the  Hung Kings in Viet Tri City. Students from Viet Tri City on the first day of the new school year.  The modern Viet Tri Bridge. Installing machinery at Song Hong Steel Milling Plant.   In the knitting workshop of Vinh Phu Textile Factory at the Nam Viet Tri Industrial Zone. Phu Tho young worker. (Photo: Ngo Du)  Bai Bang Paper-making Plant. "Wherever we go, up the mountains or down to the plains, Remember our ancestors' death anniversary on the 10th day of Lunar March". These words seem to invite all Vietnamese people with a moral tradition "When drinking water, remembering its source" from all parts of the country and abroad to pilgrimage to the relic area of Hung Kings' Temple in Phong Chau District, Phu Tho Province and attend the death anniversary of our ancestors - the Hung Kings. Imprints of the past Taking a ride from Hanoi Capital along the National Highway 2 through Viet Tri City, visitors will reach the relic area of Hung Kings' Temple, a place connected with a legend of 18 generations of Hung Kings who established the State of Van Lang. According to researchers, the 18 generations of Hung Kings and Van Lang State existed for nearly 500 years and were connected with Go Mun archeological artifacts dating about 3,000 years ago discovered in Tu Xa Commune, Lam Thao District, Phu Tho Province, and Dong Son culture, nearly 2,800 years ago (artifacts found in Ca Village in Phu Tho Province and Thanh Hoa Province). In Phu Tho Province alone there are 340 temples dedicated to Hung Kings, their wives and their generals.  Thirteen artifacts from Hung Kings' time and many others from the post-Hung Kings' time were discovered at the Hung Kings' Temple. Artifacts from the Neolithic Age and Bronze Age, which were found scattered on the 175m-high Nghia Linh Mountain in Hy Cuong area, Lam Thao District, Phu Tho Province, reflect the presence of our ancestors with their belief in the Earth and Heaven and their agricultural civilization.  Legend has it that after traveling to many areas, a Hung King stopped in Phong Chau area and set up the capital because of the local beautiful landscape and the sacred harmony between the mountains and rivers. Hung Kings, the Vietnamese nation's ancestors, who established the country have become a symbol of the will and determination to attain national independence of the Vietnamese people. The Hung Kings' Temple is a national ancestors-worshiping place. It has the architecture of the Ly (1009-1225) and the Tran (1226-1400) dynasties and has been embellished through different periods. The relic area of the Hung Kings' Temple consists of four temples, a pagoda and an ancestral tomb built on the top of the Hung Mountain (also called Nghia Linh or Hy Cuong Mountain). Its big arch gate shaded by age-old pines on the western foot of the mountain bears the words:  "Opening the way and building a foundation where four sides of the country converge, Viewing from a high vantage point, a thousand leagues of mountains and hills look like hordes of children". Looking northwards from the heaven-worshipping shrine on the Hung Mountain, visitors will see ranks of big hills running southwards, which looks like a herd of 99 prostrating elephants flanking the ancestors-worshiping temple as described in a legend. In the distance, the Thao River with its swift red flow in the west and the Lo River with its sluggish blue flow in the east look like two colourful silk ribbons bordering the old capital. Behind the Hung Mountain in the southeast there is the Gieng (Well) Temple which dated back to the 18th century. This temple has a well, called the Jade Well, hence its name Gieng Temple. As a legend says, Princesses Tien Dung and Ngoc Hoa, daughters of the 18th Hung King used to look into the well as a mirror while combing and rolling their hair. Every year a solemn festival at the Hung Kings' Temple is organised on the 10th day of Lunar March to commemorate the Hung Kings. After a national ceremony is held, there are rituals, singing contests (in ceremonial, folk and love songs) and typical games of the Viet (majority people) and other ethnic groups. The festival is a great event that praises the prosperity of the nation, symbolises the communal spirit and reminds the whole population to join efforts to build the country into an ever more flourishing place. A city at the river T-junction Viet Tri City is called a "city at the river T-junction" for it lies at the confluence of the Red River and the Lo River, which fertilise the vast plain with their rich alluvia. The imperial capital of Van Lang of the past is turned into an industrial bustling city of Viet Tri lying by the side of the Thao River (a section of the Red River that runs along the City). Viet Tri industrial zone was built in 1958, the first of this kind in the North, with the industries of textiles, paper, chemicals, porcelains and others. In 2003, several industrial zones (IZs) were built in Viet Tri City including the Thuy Van IZ, on an area of 323 hectares with operations of more than 40 businesses attracting over 7,000 workers.  The businesses include the Song Hong Electronics Company, which has invested more than VND 61 billion in building a fluorescent lamps plant, the Poongsan-hwaseom Corporation which invested USD 22 million in a PP and PE-fabric making plant, to name but a few. Many businesses, after a period of working, have proved their efficiency, such as the Huu Nghi (Friendship) Cement Company, the Garments for Export Factory, the Packaging Factory, etc. Another IZ is the Bach Hac built on an area of 82 hectares. It lured 8 businesses, including a steel plant with a capacity of 180,000 tons per year. The plant, built on an area of 12 hectares and with an investment of more than VND 100 billion, will soon to be put into operation. In addition, the operations of 130 non-state businesses have attracted more than 130,000 workers. A developed economic zone was also established in Viet Tri City which involved operations of several companies and plants, such as the Pang Rim Textile Company and the Miwon Glutamate Plant (of the Republic of Korea), the Plastics Plant and the Viet Tri Paper-making Plant. The GDP of Viet Tri City in the period of 1999-2003 was 13.1%. An economic, cultural and social centre of Phu Tho Province, Viet Tri City has an all-sided development. According to its 10-year plan (1999-2009), 120 projects will be implemented to develop the local infrastructure with a total investment of VND 8.5 trillion. The projects to build new residential quarters in the City's southeastern and southwestern areas are now being implemented. Viet Tri City is now expanding towards its northwestern area closer to the historical relic site of the Hung Kings' Temple, the newly-built residential quarters of Van Phu - Thuy Van, Minh Nong - Minh Phuong, etc. Together with the networks of lakes and shading trees, a new face of the city in the midland is being formed. Story: Vinh Hung PHU THO: Province Area: 3,518.58 sq. km Population: 1,287,170 people including the Viet (Kinh), Muong, Dao, San Chay, San Diu and others. Administrative units: Viet Tri City, Phu Tho Town and 10 districts: Ha Hoa, Thanh Ba, Doan Hung, Lam Thao, Yen Lap, Thanh Son, Thanh Thuy, Tam Nong, Phu Ninh and Cam Khe. Geography: Phu Tho Province is located in the northern mountainous midland region, 90 km from Hanoi Capital. It borders Tuyen Quang and Yen Bai Provinces in the North, Vinh Phuc Province in the East, Ha Tay Province in the Southeast, Son La Province in the West, Hoa Binh Province in the South. Climate: Average temperature: 23.40C; Average humidity: about 85%; Annual average rainfall: 1,500 mm.