The Yen Tu spring festival 2021, a much-awaited ritual of Buddhists, was launched on February 21 in the northern border province of Quang Ninh amid tight anti-coronavirus measures.

Unlike previous years, this year sees the festival, which takes place on the 10th day of the first lunar month, to be downsized due to the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Vietnam, and Quang Ninh is a coronavirus hotspot. In the photo, Buddhist clerics, monks and nuns perform the rituals at Hoa Yen pagoda of the Yen Tu historical site.

In order to encourage worshippers to remain at home, social media is used to livestream prayer rituals to allow Buddhist followers across the country to follow them. Pilgrims who are on hand are required to put on face masks and abide by other COVID-19 prevention measures.

Religious sites throughout Quang Ninh province are forced to suspend their respective spring festivals or organise them with limited attendance. Rituals taking place at Yen Tu festival this year are held in a different way, although they maintain parts of their long-standing traditions.

Pilgrims offer incense at the ancestor tower in order to pray for peace ahead in the new lunar year.

Most Venerable Thich Thanh Quyet, head of the Quang Ninh provincial Buddhist Sangha Executive Council, conducts traditional rituals as part of the occasion.