The Huong Pagoda Festival 2011 will open on February 8 (the sixth day of the Lunar New Year), announced Mr. Nguyen Van Hau, Deputy Chairman of the My Duc District People’s Committee.

The committee set plans to manage activities of the festival, ensure social security and order, convenient transport as well as environmental and food safety to create favourable conditions for visitors to the festival.

The organizing board said that this year’s festival will have 4,600 ferry-boats, including more than 200 high-quality ferry boats to provide services for visitors.

The My Duc District People’s Committee has invested more than VND 21 billion in infrastructure, such as upgrading the road to Hinh Bong Pagoda, expanding Thien Tru Ferry-boat Station and building a medical station near the Thien Tru Pagoda.

In 2010, the festival greeted nearly 1.3 million visitor arrivals, including 26,000 foreign visitor arrivals.