Thousands of visitors from across Vietnam gravitate to a famous temple in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang on Lunar New Year's Day to wish for good luck and safety.

Ba Chua Xu (local goddess) Temple, located within the Sam Mountain Tourist Area in Chau Doc City, attracted a lot of visitors on Tuesday.

People lit incense and offered flowers to the goddess in order to pray for a lucky and healthy year.

While the crowds filled the entire premises of the temple, congestion also occurred along the roads leading to Sam Mountain.

Many people who were unable to enter the venue had no choice but to pray to the goddess from afar.

“I traveled here from Hong Ngu District, Dong Thap Province [about 45 kilometers away] early in the morning, but a lot of people had already been here by the time I arrived,” said a visitor.

Aside from paying respects at Ba Chua Xu Temple, riding a cable car to the top of Sam Mountain is another popular activity at the tourist site.

Visitors had to wait in long queues on Tuesday for a chance to witness the beauty of the mountain from above.

A round trip costs VND150,000 (US$6.6) during the holiday, while children under one meter tall are allowed to ride the cable car free of charge.

The number of visitors to the Sam Mountain Tourist Area on the first day of the week-long 2022 Lunar New Year festival was about 60 percent of that in previous years, according to Tran Quoc Tuan, vice-chairman of Chau Doc City.

“This is a promising sign for the tourist site during the 'new normal' situation,” Tuan continued, referring to Vietnam's strategy of living safely with the coronavirus.

Most people remembered to put on a face mask and follow other pandemic prevention measures while visiting the venue, the official added.

Young visitors to Chau Doc City also spent time at the Thien Anh flower field located just about five kilometers from Sam Mountain.

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