On February 19, people from Bien Hoa, Binh Duong, Ho Chi Minh City and many international tourist groups participated in a unique procession on the Dong Nai River and Bien Hoa streets. The program is part of the Ong Pagoda Festival taking place from January 9 to 13, organized by the Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee. The procession is a form of bringing the folk god, the hero who opened and developed the land of Bien Hoa, to visit the people on the occasion of the New Year. This year, the procession is organized synchronously on both waterways and roads.

Before the road parade, a group of 10 ferries welcomed the Saint on the Dong Nai River from Ghenh Bridge to Hoa An Bridge through the center of Bien Hoa City, a distance of more than 1km.

According to the Board of Directors of the Seven Palaces Ancient Temple (Hiep Hoa Ward, Bien Hoa City), the welcoming ceremony is a form of bringing the folk god, the hero who opened up and developed Bien Hoa land, to visit the people on the occasion of the New Year. Through that, they pray for a year of favorable weather, peace and prosperity for the country and its people.

The procession of the welcoming ceremony includes artisans, actors, and people of Bien Hoa City, stretching over 300m. Lion and dragon dance troupes, costumed fairies, traditional costumes, street performing arts... will line up and parade through many central streets of Bien Hoa City to commemorate the heroes who contributed to the reclamation and development of Bien Hoa land.

The opening of the procession was a trumpet and drum ceremonial team performed by secondary school students in Bien Hoa City. The students moved and played trumpets and drums, attracting a large crowd of people to watch.

On the routes passing through, art troupes and guilds will perform lion and dragon dances, fan dances, drum dances, and street art to serve locals and tourists.

From early morning, a large number of people and tourists stood on both sides of Cach Mang Thang Tam and Phan Van Tri streets waiting for the parade to pass. This is considered the biggest festival of the early spring of Giap Thin that the people of Bien Hoa City are looking forward to.

Ms. Le Thi Khanh Vy (actress of Ho Chi Minh City Dance College) said that the group had to walk more than 3km to welcome the gods, dancing while walking. Although the weather was hot and the walking was quite tiring, she felt very happy when she was able to join the festival. For many years, the Ong Pagoda festival has been maintained and organized to connect folk beliefs in the long-standing cultural traditions of the two Vietnamese and Chinese peoples. In the procession to welcome the gods, there were many old men wearing traditional ao dai.

There are also many processions welcoming the gods wearing traditional costumes of the Chinese community in Dong Nai, Binh Duong and Ho Chi Minh City.

Every year, the Ong Pagoda festival attracts a large number of people, tourists from all over the country and Chinese community halls throughout the country to participate. Many halls bring to the ceremony a performance of dressing up as generals.

Members of a club dressed in uniform, dressed as many fairies, and walking on stilts on Cach Mang Thang Tam Street.

Ong Pagoda was built in 1684, worshiping Quan Thanh De Quan. This is the earliest Chinese pagoda in the South, associated with the immigrant community brought by General Tran Thuong Xuyen to settle in Cu Lao Pho - Bien Hoa in 1679, creating Nong Nai Dai Pho - the first bustling commercial port in the Southern region.