Within the framework of the activities of the Con Son - Kiep Bac Spring Festival 2024, on the afternoon of February 25, at the stone yard of the outer gate of Con Son Pagoda (Chi Linh), the 11th Hai Duong Province Fireworks Festival took place.
210 gunners from 7 teams including: Nghia An, Ung Hoe, An Duc (Ninh Giang); Quang Khai, Minh Duc, Dai Hop (Tu Ky) and Duc Xuong (Gia Loc) participated in the festival.
The festival was lively. Many people brought gongs, trumpets, and drums to cheer on the gunners. In particular, the Ung Hoe commune team (Ninh Giang) had about 300 people cheering.
Before participating in the festival, all teams had time to prepare carefully and practice thoroughly. Right after the 2024 Lunar New Year, all teams practiced to be ready to compete. The Ung Hoe commune team prepared the land since last year. Because the locality did not have suitable soil, the Duc Xuong commune team (Gia Loc) bought land from Ninh Giang district for 210,000 VND/fruit.
This year, almost all teams have new members joining to train and prepare for the following festival seasons.
As a result, the two champion teams in 2023, Nghia An commune team (Ninh Giang) and Duc Xuong commune team (Gia Loc), both successfully defended their championship titles.
Specifically, in the large artillery event, the Nghia An commune artillery team won first prize with a score of 572.4 meters; two teams from Tu Ky district won second and third prizes, respectively: Quang Khai (553.4 meters), Minh Duc (546.1 meters).
In the small artillery event, the artillery team of Duc Xuong commune won first prize with 413.1 meters; Dai Hop commune (Tu Ky) won second prize with 368.2 meters; and third prize went to the team of An Duc commune (Ninh Giang) with 362.1 meters.
The individual prize for the longest string of fireworks belonged to gunner Pham Quang Giam, artillery team of Nghia An commune with 28.5 meters.
Clay cannon is a long-standing folk game in the Northern Delta region that is still preserved and passed down through many generations in many communes of Ninh Giang, Tu Ky, and Gia Loc districts (Hai Duong).
The 11th Hai Duong Province Fireworks Festival is not only a playground for physical training and competition between localities, but also demonstrates the inheritance, preservation and promotion of traditional cultural heritage.