Vietnamese businesspeople with Thang Long-Hanoi

Almost 3,000 people flocked to the northern province of Ninh Binh on March 4 for a cultural programme for Vietnamese business people to celebrate the millennial anniversary of their country’s capital.

The programme of activities, entitled “Vietnamese business people with Hoa Lu-Thang Long-Hanoi: 1,000 years of construction and sustainable development”, is the biggest to be held for the Vietnamese business community to mark the grand anniversary.

Among the participants, 1,000 business people offered incense to the temples of Kings Dinh and Le and at a stele that honours King Ly Thai To. They also planted 1,000 Bodhi trees in front of the Bai Dinh pagoda.

Attendees also joined 100 Buddhist monks and followers in a festival to pray for peace, prosperity and favourable weather for the whole nation at the Bai Dinh pagoda—the same site where King Dinh Tien Hoang conducted a ceremony to pray for favourable weather more than 1,000 years ago.

Following the festival, the participants attended a vegetarian feast at the pagoda.

Hoa Lu means “Flowers of Reeds” and was the capital city of the Dinh dynasty (968-980) and the Tien Le (Early Le) dynasty (980-1009). The Ly dynasty (1010-1225) was also formed from this capital city.

Hoa Lu, as a capital city, existed for only 41 years, from 968 to 1009, during which time the first 12 years belonged to the Dinh Dynasty. Dinh Bo Linh was crowned as King Dinh Tien Hoang and he named the country Dai Co Viet (Great Viet). The next 29 years were ruled by the Tien Le Dynasty.

But in the year 1010, as the country stepped into a higher stage of development, King Ly Thai To decided to move the capital city to Thang Long (now Hanoi), where it remains to this day. Since then, Hoa Lu has been known as the former capital./.