Promoting cultural heritage values to serve tourism development in Thai Binh province

of our people during the resistance war against the French. That is the pride of the cadres and people of An Khe commune in general, and Long Khe village where the pagoda is located in particular. The pagoda was recognized as a national historical relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information on February 25, 1998. The presence of Ngoc Dong pagoda today is an affirmation of the belief and determination of "single-minded faith, all things succeed" of Buddhists and Long Khe people towards the first "momentary creation, lasting forever" Buddhist architectural work in the last years of the 20th century in Thai Binh land.

Dong Bang Temple

Dong Bang Temple is located in Dong Bang village, An Le commune, Quynh Phu district, Thai Binh province. The temple worships Vinh Cong Dai Vuong Bat Hai Dong Dinh, also known as the King from the time of the 18th Hung King.

Dong Bang Temple is located not far from National Highway 10. The entire main temple area has an area of 20,500m2 , the inner temple area alone is 6000m2 with layers and layers of gates, 13 buildings, 66 rooms connected to the same roof, exquisitely carved, profound, overwhelming with ancient majesty and gold. From the national highway, visitors can get off the car and walk to admire this majestic and magnificent relic complex. During the Ly Dynasty, in the "Four ancient famous places: Dao Dong - Long Khe - To A - A Sao", Dao Dong was the top. During the Tran Dynasty, when coming to worship at Dong Bang Temple, famous general Pham Ngu Lao wrote a poem that is still preserved at the temple:

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“ Spring and autumn, the morning sun moves the flowers, the autumn wind sends the crane's voice, the flowing light of the palace, the pine tree under the sky, the fruit of the fairyland is a treasure.”

At the end of the shady road, we come across a round, clear lake, formerly known as Ao Rong. From here we can clearly see the majestic three-door gate, the temple gate is a magnificent architectural work in the style of the Great Gate of the Nguyen Dynasty palace. The gate has three doors: the large middle door is only opened on the day of the main festival, the left and right doors are open every day to welcome visitors to the temple. The upper floor of the main gate is the Kinh Thien tower, with an ancient incense burner, a place to pray for the eight festivals and the main festival day. The four large Chinese characters "Bat Hai Dong Dinh" are

The temple's name. On both sides of the main gate are a pair of Chinese parallel sentences as a summary introduction to the temple.

Passing through the main gate is the inner temple, which includes:

- The Great Hall (the great worship hall, the great third hall): The Four Palaces Public Palace - this is where the great ceremonies took place on ancient festival days. The great hall is an architectural work of the Nguyen Dynasty, with typical 19th century architecture.

- Third Palace: Compared to the Fourth Palace, the Third Palace is smaller, more naturally decorated, simpler, although elegant in shape, still magnificent and golden.

- Second Palace: Entering the Second Palace, we seem to see a new, more spacious space opening up before our eyes, shimmering like the sublimation of the landscape.

- The First Palace: This is the worshiping palace after the Second Palace, adjacent to the Forbidden Palace. The First Palace is the worshiping palace of the King. According to the elders, the First Palace, the Quan Palace and the Mau Palace were built during the Ly Dynasty when Dao Dong was considered the top of the "Four ancient famous landscapes" of the ancient An Tiem Palace. It is called the worshiping palace of the King because according to the ancient Eastern custom, ordinary people were not allowed to directly admire the Dragon's face (the King's face), so the First Palace is the most important palace for believers to come and offer incense and pray to the King. Also with splendid golden decoration, the First Palace has a solemn, deep and lonely appearance that makes people respectful.

- The Three Holy Mothers Palace includes: Mother of Heaven, Mother of Water, and Mother of the Mountains. Right at the main entrance of the Mothers Palace, there is a very unique horizontal plaque that only Dong Bang Temple has, which is a horizontal plaque with the image of a carp transforming into a dragon.

- Palace of the Great Officials: According to the elders, during the Tran Dynasty, this palace worshiped all ten great officials who followed Vinh Cong to fight the enemy in the past. When the Grand Tutor Tran Nhan Hue, the Palace General Pham Ngu Lao, and the famous General Yet Kieu passed away, their tablets were also worshiped in this palace. In front of the palace door, there is also a very unique horizontal lacquered board, which is the one with the Phoenix Bird Dang Van. The base of the scroll is carved with the image of a large phoenix with a crest flying, and below is carved the image of a young phoenix flying. The ancients wanted to use images to say that

The male phoenix flying with the baby phoenix means the father phoenix or the father phoenix, implying that the location of Dong Bang temple is on Phu Phuong land.

- Forbidden Palace: This is the most solemn worshiping palace of Dong Bang Temple. It is called the Forbidden Palace because not everyone can enter. According to ancient custom, except for the temple keeper who has the right to enter and exit the incense burner to serve in the Forbidden Palace, even the elders and dignitaries in the village can only enter the Forbidden Palace on sacrificial days, new moon, full moon, eight festivals and main festivals.

In addition to the main worshiping palaces, in Dong Bang temple, in different periods, additional worshiping palaces were established.

From the above documents, we can see that Dong Bang Temple is the largest temple in Thai Binh. With a closed, majestic and massive layout but still airy, gentle, elegant and graceful, Dong Bang Temple bears a strong traditional architectural style in the culture of Northern villages but is influenced by Hue architecture in the early years of the century. That is the art of ceramic mosaic and the overlapping four-sided roof, which is a cultural exchange and also because of that, it increases the captivating beauty of the unique temple in this land. With its architectural and artistic values, Dong Bang Temple has truly become an attractive destination, attracting many domestic and foreign tourists to visit. It can be said that Dong Bang Temple is a cultural heritage of Thai Binh province, a museum of wood carving art in the early century of the rice countryside. On December 12, 1989, this architectural work was reviewed and recognized as a national historical and cultural relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information.

Dong Xam Temple

Dong Xam Temple is located in Hong Thai Commune, Kien Xuong District, Thai Binh Province. This can be considered a masterpiece of wood carving, stone, metal and plaster art of Vietnam during the Nguyen Dynasty.

The temple consists of a monumental complex. It includes the temple of Trieu Vu De, the temple of Trinh Thi Hoang Hau (wife of King Trieu Vu De) and the temple of Nguyen Kim Lau (the founder of the traditional silversmithing profession) along with a system of temples and pagodas located next to the Vong River. The center of the Dong Xam temple complex is a massive architectural complex.

with nearly 10,000m2 including many majestic and beautiful architectural works such as watchtower, water seat, horizontal horse, sacrificial yard, front hall, square court, shrine, back palace, silver carving ancestor's shrine. The water seat is a tall hexagonal house with six arched doors facing in all directions, from here visitors can see the whole view of the sacrificial yard and the bustling boat racing lanes on the river during festivals. The front hall of the temple is a large hall consisting of five large compartments with a massive scale of up to 13m high and a majestic architectural style rarely seen in other relics. Connecting the front hall with the back palace is the Central Hall built in the square court style. The ground plan in this area is handled extremely reasonably by artisans, from the three compartments of the front hall, a central compartment is shortened to form the foundation of the square court. The temple's sanctuary is structured into two interconnected parts: a five-room palace, connected to the central room by a raised platform to place the shrine. The porch outside the sanctuary is harmoniously decorated with large characters, scrolls, parallel sentences, and a system of carved wooden doors. The system of tray doors in the three central rooms of the sanctuary is carved with the theme of the eight treasures, patterns, vines, and seal scripts on the 12 doors of the sanctuary, creating a feeling of ethereal lightness for visitors before stepping through the threshold to enter here. The shrine located in the sanctuary is a unique work with the characteristics of the silver, copper, and iron carving craft village. The shrine is sealed with carved copper leaves with different themes such as the four sacred animals, the four seasons, etc. In the shrine are statues of Trieu Vu De and Trinh Thi Hoang Hau, the size of the statues is the same as real people and are both cast in bronze inlaid with gold, silver, and silver foil.

With its unique artistic structure, Dong Xam Temple has truly become an attractive tourist destination, certainly satisfying the needs of visitors to visit and learn. Coming here, visitors will be able to immerse themselves in the fresh natural scenery and admire a sculpture that can be said to be very majestic and vivid. To commemorate the founder of the silver carving profession, every year on April 1st, Dong Xam villagers eagerly hold a festival. Besides the ritual, there are many folk cultural activities. This is an opportunity for villagers to express their gratitude to their ancestors.

It can be affirmed that Dong Xam Temple is a masterpiece of wood carving, stone, metal and plaster art of Vietnam during the Nguyen Dynasty. On October 30, 1990, this temple was recognized by the Ministry of Culture and Information as a national historical and cultural relic with criteria of architectural art form.

Tong Tho Temple

Not far from Thai Binh City, in a small village, formerly in Tong Tho commune, Truc Noi canton, Thai Ninh prefecture (now Dong My commune, Dong Hung district), there is a large, ancient, and solemn communal house. That is Tong Tho communal house - a historical and cultural relic that has been ranked at the national level of Thai Binh province.

Regarding the construction date, based on ancient documents, steles, and family genealogies, it shows that the predecessor of the communal house was built during the Le Trung Hung period in the 16th century. Since then, the communal house has been renovated many times: the first time in 1747 (recorded by the Dang family genealogy), the second time in 1767, and the third time in 1864 (recorded by the Pham family genealogy). The two stone steles currently placed at the communal house record the reconstruction of the outer communal house in 1911 and the inner communal house in 1923 with the current large scale.

Tong Tho communal house is built in the style of the Chinese character "nhi". The front hall has five compartments, with a curved roof, the second hall has three compartments, with a back-and-forth style. The system of seven front panels is carved with "four seasons, dragon transformation". The interior rafters are made in the style of "upper panels, lower beds". The upper rafters are carved with tigers, on both sides are lions, large and strong, looking very fierce. The front and back beams are carved with four sacred animals, with scenes of flying dragons and dancing phoenixes, lions playing with balls, and turtles holding books. Folk themes are also vividly depicted. Decorative motifs such as bamboo fans, fish, water waves, flowers, leaves, birds, etc. are carved with skillful carvings, meticulous and lively. In particular, the second hall also has a system of thresholds, rafters and columns made of green stone, which are elaborately and artistically carved. The front of the columns are carved with parallel sentences, the remaining sides are carved with "four sacred animals, four seasons". The stone thresholds are meticulously carved, the cornices are carved with floral motifs, the decorative art is elegant, harmonious, lively and picturesque. In Tong Tho communal house, many valuable sacrificial objects are still preserved. In particular,

There are very large coffins, placed on kneeling beds with fish-shaped legs, with hundreds of elaborate carvings and gilded with brilliant gold.

Tong Tho Communal House is also a historical relic - a place to worship the community, the tutelary god: "the five great kings and the seven subordinates", all of whom have contributed to the people and the country in historical periods. A genealogy book and 17 royal decrees of the dynasties, from the reign of King Le Canh Hung to the reign of King Nguyen, clearly record the achievements and careers of 12 human gods from the early days of the country's founding to the Dinh, Ly, Tran, Le dynasties... What is of special interest is that among the 12 human gods, there is one who has contributed to building dikes to control floods, protecting the lives and property of the people. That is Hac Hien Linh Ton Than - a Ha De Su of the Tran Dynasty. The duties of the Ha De Su position are: Every year in January, the dike su must urge the people to build the dikes... During the rainy season, the dike su must go to inspect the dikes to promptly repair the collapsed areas. The genealogy records that he was a tall man, with a face as black as iron, and extraordinary strength. When the villagers had a dike section adjacent to the communes of Tong Khe and Thuong Tam that was broken by floodwaters, he obeyed the king's order to organize the people to rebuild it. The army tried their best to repair it, but because of the high tide and strong flood, both men and horses were swept away by the water and died there. With the brave and selfless example of the Ha De Su, the people united and tried their best to repair the dike section, protecting the crops and the peaceful life of the villages. Therefore, after his death, the king bestowed a royal decree, and the communes of Tong Tho, Tong Khe, Thuong Tam and the people along the river all remembered the merits of the Ha De Su and worshiped him as a respectable tutelary god.

In addition to the above historical significance, Tong Tho communal house was also the place where many struggles against the colonial feudal regime took place, the place where the masses gathered to seize power in Dong Quan district; the headquarters of Giang Dong battalion with famous battles on Highway 10 during the resistance war against France. After peace, the historical and architecturally famous communal house was honored to welcome many domestic and foreign delegations to visit. From leaders to scientific researchers, all affirmed and praised the historical and architectural values of the communal house - a cultural landscape.

typical of Vietnamese countryside

With its historical values, Tong Tho communal house has attracted the attention of many domestic and foreign researchers who want to learn about cultural heritages in Thai Binh. In the struggle against the feudal colonial regime and in the resistance war against the French, Tong Tho communal house was also a revolutionary base and played a truly great role in contributing to the victory of our people. Currently, the communal house is the cultural and religious center of the people in the commune. On holidays and festivals, villagers gather at the communal house and organize very solemn events. With the awareness of protecting and preserving the precious cultural heritage left by their ancestors, in recent years, Thai Binh officials and people have gradually restored and embellished the relic site to make Tong Tho communal house more and more spacious and majestic, attracting many visitors. The communal house was recognized by the Ministry of Culture and Information as a national historical and cultural relic on December 16, 1993.

Thuong Phuc Temple

Thuong Phuc is a small village, formerly My Lac commune, Cao Mai canton, Chan Dinh district, Kien Xuong prefecture, now Thuong Phuc village, Quang Trung commune, Kien Xuong district, Thai Binh province.

Thuong Phuc Communal House is a large-scale temple, built in the style of "Tien Nhat Hau Cong", with a three-story curved roofed pavilion rising above the bamboo hedges of the village. The predecessor of the communal house was quite early (the inner communal house was built during the Le Trung Hung period, 17th century). After many generations of turmoil, the communal house has been constantly renovated and enlarged to what it is today. Currently, the temple's skeleton records the year of restoration "Thanh Thai Quy Ty year 1893" and the Dai Bai building was rebuilt during the Khai Dinh Dynasty, Ky Mui (1919). The Dai Bai building is the largest building, with Mr. Bui Ngoc Ton as the foreman and two more skilled groups of workers from Nam Dinh and Hung Yen provinces working together. All three groups of workers showed their talents in elaborate carvings, but the two middle pillars of the Thai Binh group were more balanced, harmonious, and sophisticated, so they won first prize.

The five-room Dai Bai is very large, built in the style of a panel-shaped panel, the interior structure is all made of ironwood and is elaborately and delicately carved. The five-room system

The guest door frame, seven fronts are carved with pine, bamboo, chrysanthemum, and apricot blossoms transforming into dragons. The truss structure is made in the style of upper beams and lower beams with a system of large and tall main and secondary pillars. The three-story openwork ends are carved with the image of a large and strong dragon's head stretching out, the beard is neatly combed and curled into wavy shapes, looking very lively. The two middle rafters are carved with tigers, the rafters are carved with seals and leaves, the top is carved with lotus flowers, the first sentence is carved with a silk strip and a hexagonal brocade flower. In general, the carving style is open and airy, the overall harmony and balance. The second building has three arched compartments, the roof is covered with pointed tiles. The tube-shaped building is also built with an arched compartment, with a middle door and two side doors. The main building is built in the style of an ancient three-story overlapping pavilion, more than 10m high, the roof is decorated with a dragon swallowing a large bank, the roof is covered with pointed tiles, the edge is decorated with double-winged wings, the ancient pavilion is decorated with four sacred animals in an elegant, harmonious and ancient style.

In addition to its value as an architectural and artistic relic, Thuong Phuc communal house is also a place to worship the "Three tutelary gods": Dong Hai god (Doan Thuong), Nam Hai god and Bach Y god, all of whom have contributed to the country.

During the revolutionary period, Thuong Phuc communal house was closely associated with the revolutionary movement of Thuong Phuc village and the revolutionary bases in the area. Next to the communal house were two tall ancient trees, which served as a contact point for senior cadres to travel back and forth to work. In 1936, under the influence of the Lai Vy revolutionary base, Kenh Son (Quang Minh commune), comrade Tran Xuan Luu and comrade Le Huy organized associations to propagate the national language, filial piety associations, soccer and volleyball associations. Thuong Phuc communal house was a secret meeting place, carrying out the association's activities, thereby enlightening and recruiting young people into revolutionary activities. Nguyen Trich's house near the communal house was set up as the Provincial Party Committee's printing facility. The printed documents were brought to the communal house for hiding and transferred to the An Ninh commune base, from where they were distributed to other places in the area. There was a period when the Party's printing facility was moved to the back palace of the communal house to print revolutionary documents.

In February 1941, the provincial Party conference met at Thuong Phuc communal house to consolidate the organization and promote the revolutionary struggle movement of the masses. On August 22, 1945, the masses of people from Cao Mai, Da Coc communes and Thuong Phuc village gathered at the communal house, thousands of people together.

Promoting cultural heritage values to serve tourism development in Thai Binh province - 5

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