Incense offerings and various activities have been organised nationwide to commemorate Hung Kings, the nation’s legendary founders, on April 19, the tenth day of the third lunar month. In the ancestral land Phu Tho province, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc offered incense to Hung Kings at the Hung Kings Temple Complex. President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Huynh Dam and leaders of numerous ministries, branches also attended the ceremony. Speaking at the ceremony, Secretary of the provincial Party’s Committee Hoang Dan Mac emphasized the significance of the national death anniversary and praised great contributions of Hung Kings to the nation’s foundation and protection. He affirmed the sound leadership of the Party and national unity during the renewal process and national construction. On this occasion, the Government, the VFF and local leaders also offered flowers at the relief wall dedicated to President Ho Chi Minh and soldiers from the Tien Phong (Vanguard) Division stationed at the complex. In Ho Chi Minh City , the commemoration of Hung Kings was organised at the Ethnic Cultural and Historical Park. Local people together burnt incense in memory of Hung Kings and prayed for prosperous country, healthy people and peaceful world. The Central Highlands province of Dak Lak held incense offerings to commemorate Hung Kings, attracting ethnic groups, domestic and foreign tourists. The event also featured other activities such as lion-dragon dances and gongs performance. On this occasion, the southern Dong Nai province organised Chung cake (square rice cake) - Day cake (round rice-cake) making and five-fruit tray arranging contests, folk games and music performance. The event also featured Xoan singing, a valuable intangible cultural heritage of the ancestral land of Phu Tho . The incense offering ceremony is part of the commemoration of Hung Kings, known as the national death anniversary, which takes place from the eighth day to the eleventh day of the third lunar month with the tenth day observed as the major event. Last December, the worship of Hung Kings was honoured by the UNESCO as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This was the organisation’s first recognition of an ancestral worship ritual as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity. The worship of Hung Kings has been preserved and spread from generation to generation despite ups and downs in history. There are 1,417 temples dedicated to Hung Kings scattering across the country.