Female general honoured in Vietnam: 11-02-2008
Held each winter in Vietnam, the Mai Dong Festival in Vietnam commemorates bravery, resilience and historic battles against the Chinese.
Taking place in the Hai Ba Trung District in the heart of Hanoi, the celebration attracts visitors from around the world and honours a fearless female general who battled against Chinese forces in the first century AD.
Featuring traditional sports, a parade and wrestling matches that reflect the way in which the female commander enrolled troops, the community festival lasts for three days.
Trieu Tam Trinh, or Lady Le Chan, the widow of the local aristocrat, formed an army in 39AD in order to fight China, establishing an independent state for four years until Chinese Han invaders returned.
With her Trung Sisters, Lady Le Chan was briefly successful in leading a revolt against the Chinese forces, installing her older sister Trung Trac as ruler of an independent state.
Taking place in January of the lunar year, the Tet Festival in Vietnam is the biggest festival in the country and sees Vietnamese all returning to their families to attend ancestral graves, honour ancestors and spirits, clean and paint homes and celebrate the start of the year.