02/19/10 -- Vietnam -- At 9 am this morning, the Huong pagoda festival, which will last 3 months, opened with 60,000 tourists and others in attendance.

In an interview with VnExpress.net, Mr. Nguyen Chi Thanh, head of the pagoda’s Relic Management Board, said that from just the 5th day of the Tet holiday [February 18] to the 6th [February 19], 16,000 pilgrims and tourists visited Huong pagoda.