The festival, which runs until February 17, features wrestling and tug-of-war as well as competitions to cook rice and make dishes from fish.
The culinary contests are to commemorate the Tran Dynasty kings whose ancestors were fishermen.
According to historical documents, ancestors of the Tran kings used to live in the area now known as Nam Dinh province and then migrated to Thai Binh where the Tran family began to rise, with the enthronement of King Tran Thai Tong in 1225.
The Tran Temple in Thai Binh province houses the tombs of the first three kings as well as other important figures of the Tran Dynasty.
This particular festival is included in Vietnam’s list of national intangible cultural heritage.