A festival to commemorate two national heroes Trung Sisters (Trung Trac andTrung Nhi), who led the country against northern invaders 1970 years ago, openedin Hanoi’s outskirts district of Me Linh on February 19 or the sixth day of thefirst lunar month.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vice StatePresident Nguyen Thi Doan suggested Hanoi and Me Linh district pay continuedattention to combining tourism development with preserving national culturalvalues.

The city should promote the management of its relics and raisepublic awareness of preserving historical and cultural sites, she added.

A series of activities have been held during the three-day event,including a procession of king’s palanquin, fighting elephants and offeringsfrom the Ha Loi Temple to the Trung Sisters’ Temple, singing performances,dragon and lion dances and folk games.
In 39 AD, aristocrat widow Lady LeChan and her Trung Sisters formed an army to revolt against the Chinese yokecoming from the north.
The revolt was briefly successful and the oldersister, Trung Trac, established herself as ruler of an independent state andchose Me Linh as a new capital.

However, four years later, Chinese feudalarmies returned and the Trung forces were routed. The Trung Sisters drownedthemselves in the Hat river rather than submit to capture./.