Some solutions to develop cultural tourism in Hai Phong

Most of the relics in Hai Phong are associated with special festivals. The place with the densest density of historical and cultural relics is the inner city of Hai Phong with many unique relics such as the City Opera House, Flower Shop, City Museum, Nghe Temple, Hang Kenh Communal House, Du Hang Pagoda, No-number Wharf, Ba De Temple... In addition, historical and cultural relics in Hai Phong are also concentrated in suburban districts such as Vinh Bao - the hometown of Trang Trinh Nguyen Binh Khiem, Kien Thuy district with the Duong Kinh complex of Mac Dynasty, An Lao district with the famous Voi Mountain, Thuy Nguyen district with the historic Bach Dang River...

These relics are not only valuable in terms of history but also in terms of architecture, art, and Eastern Buddhist culture, so they have guided people back to their roots, protected cultural values, and preserved national identity. From there, the relics form cultural tourist attractions that attract visitors, especially many relics located right in scenic areas, or the relics themselves are also scenic spots, making them even more attractive to visitors. For example, Hang Vua, Nui Voi, Tran Quoc Bao Temple, etc. are tourist attractions that attract many visitors. Nationally ranked relics are located in scenic areas with great tourism significance. Some relics, although not nationally ranked, are very attractive to visitors from a tourism perspective, for example Ba De Temple, Than Hai Dai Vuong Temple (Do Son).

In addition, Hai Phong was formed on an ancient land, with a long-standing cultural and social foundation. On Hai Phong land, archaeologists have discovered 3 typical archaeological sites throughout prehistoric times, proving the continuous presence of ancient Vietnamese people here.

Cai Beo site (Cat Hai) belongs to the pre-Ha Long culture, about 6000 years ago.

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Trang Kenh site (Minh Duc town - Thuy Nguyen) belongs to Phung Nguyen culture, about 3000 years ago.

The Viet Khe (Thuy Nguyen) and Voi Mountain (An Lao) sites belong to the Dong Son culture, about 2000 years ago.

It can be affirmed that the material cultural tourism resources in Hai Phong are very diverse, unique and have high cultural and historical values, with great tourism significance that can be exploited to become cultural tourism products. In the scope of the article, we would like to introduce some typical historical and cultural relics.

Hang Kenh Communal House

Hang Kenh Communal House (literally Nhan Tho Communal House), located on Nguyen Cong Tru Street, Hang Kenh Ward, Le Chan District, Hai Phong City. According to the inscription still preserved at the site, Hang Kenh Communal House today was built in 1719, during the reign of King Le Du Tong and was restored from 1841 to 1850. Located 2km east of Hai Phong City center, Hang Kenh Communal House is considered an architectural work that fully embodies the appearance and artistic style of an ancient Vietnamese communal house.

In addition to its architectural beauty, Hang Kenh communal house also has sculptural value. The carved panels of dragons, clouds, and stylized flowers and leaves on the surface of the planks and at the foot of the bars seem to challenge time. The main room of the communal house has a gilded red-lacquered gate that is symmetrically carved. This gate is like a vivid sculpture with images of two dragons facing the moon, a pair of phoenixes spreading their wings, a horse crossing a river, a turtle striding along a lotus pond. In the communal house, there are more than 100 carved panels, with the image of a dragon - one of the "four sacred animals" of the Vietnamese - as the main theme. The unique feature is the 308 dragons in the carved panels, each with a different appearance and posture, and carved in nests, with mother and child dragons entwined among the grass, trees, flowers and leaves. Rarely do artisans use the "ball shape" or "open carving" style to carve like here.

More than three centuries have passed, but Hang Kenh communal house still retains its ancient features: curved roof, ancient banyan tree leaning under the clear blue water of the crescent lake. Especially the festival commemorating the hero

The Ngo Quyen people and the Bach Dang victory in 938 have been maintained from the 17th century to the present. This is a tourist destination that attracts many visitors from all over the world. Hang Kenh Communal House is a special and typical relic of Hai Phong City, ranked by the State in 1962.

Ba De Temple

Legend has it that in 1718, in the Southeast of Ngoc Do Son, there was a couple named Dao who had been barren for 20 years. They worked hard to cultivate virtue and prayed to God and Buddha for a child. God and Buddha witnessed and told the wife in a dream that she could become pregnant. On the full day of the month of heaven and earth, De Ba was born, and her body had a fragrant scent. She was named Dao Thi Huong. When she reached adulthood, her beauty was famous throughout the region. The parallel sentences in her temple praised her:

Innately beautiful and fragrant, a fairy with a majestic and true body, Inherently ice-like muscles, Jade-boned Empress Dowager, a noble and elite.

She was very skillful and diligent in everything. Every day she often went to Ngoc village to herd buffaloes and cut grass. She held a sickle in her hand and sang:

The crescent-shaped handle is elegant. How many herbs are grown in my hand?

Her singing voice echoed throughout the mountains and forests. People said that every time she sang, the birds stopped chirping, the waves stopped crashing, and the sky and earth became silent to absorb her voice. Just like that, her voice blended with the sky, the mountains and rivers, making all the fishermen in the area forget all their hardships and feel at ease, confident, and happy.

In 1736, Lord Trinh Doanh returned to Do Son. He and his army toured the sea by dragon boat in Doc Mountain. He heard the singing and ordered the soldiers to find the singer. He met the Lady and fell in love with her. He stayed by her side for a whole month without leaving her side. When he returned to the capital, he promised her to wait a few days, and he would bring a precious flower boat to take her to the capital. From then on, she became pregnant and was very worried about the village. Day and night, she looked after her.

waiting for the Lord's flower boat. The General knew about the story and demanded a fine. Because they were poor and had no money to pay the fine, Dao took her to the sea in the Doc mountain area and drowned her.

Knowing that she would die, tears of injustice filled her eyes. She looked up to the sky and cried: “As a lonely woman, I dare not resist the love of God. I dare not forget the kindness of my parents and relatives. May God and Buddha bear witness to my heart! When I was drowned, if I had wronged God and Buddha, let me float up three times. My relatives, please let me live. If I lie, my body will sink to set an example for the world.” She indeed floated up three times. Everyone was terrified. The Dao family and the tyrants tied a rope with a hole in the mortar around her waist and tied it to a pole that was stuck in the sea.

They, the General's family, returned home at the same time as the waves and winds were strong, the water rose and crashed into the foot of Doc Mountain, there was a big cave, ropes, mortars, and poles drifted into the cave's mouth. Every night on the rocky beach, the sacred spirit of the Lady appeared to punish those who had killed her, who had committed many crimes against the innocent people. Seeing her sacredness, they immediately built a temple with ropes, and broken mortars, and every year the Lady's family had to re-dye the ropes once. The Lady's curse was that when the ropes and stones rotted, this hatred would end.

After a month, the Lord's flower boat returned to pick her up. At that time, her grievances increased many times. Her mother, because she loved her son so much, also died. Knowing the story, Lord Trinh Doanh ordered Hang Tong to build a temple and set up an altar to clear the grievances of the Lady. When King Tu Duc visited the temple, he gave the Lady a solemn title: "DONG NHAC DE BA TRINH CHUA PHU NHAN".

Later generations mourned and admired her loyalty.

Many famous people later left their writings in the Temple of the Lady.

A piece of ice in the heart of heaven and earth is white. The mirror is clear to the ears and all the gods know. The incense of the Empress Dowager will last forever.

The Legend of the Trinh Lord's Palanquin

Translation:

A heart as pure as ice, heaven and earth know. A sincere heart of respect for the gods or the Emperor. For thousands of years, Trinh Lord has spread the story for generations.

Time passed, the stone mortar and rope were lost, and her spirit was peaceful and sacred, granting good things to kind-hearted people from all over the world who came to pray for her as their wishes were fulfilled.

Every year after Tet, people from Hai Phong, Hanoi and many other rural areas across the country flock to Ba De Temple. People come to pray for wealth, fortune and especially to ask for forgiveness for any injustices they and their families may have suffered.

The number of visitors coming here is increasing day by day and not only in spring, people come to the temple all year round. People come to the temple to share and sympathize with the fate of a beautiful, virtuous, loyal girl who had to suffer misfortune in the land where three rivers flow into the sea. Ba De Temple takes the first day of spring to offer rice to the Lady on the 26th day of the first lunar month and the thanksgiving ceremony to the Lady on the 24th, 25th, and 26th days of the second lunar month.

Tuong Long Tower

Do Son tourist area, Hai Phong is famous for its ideal beaches and beautiful scenery. But few people know that on the top of Long Son (Ngoc Xuyen ward), the first of the 9 mountains running along the Do Son peninsula, there is also a thousand-year-old historical and cultural relic - that is Tuong Long tower.

Tuong Long Tower (also known as Do Son Tower) was built during the reign of Ly Thanh Tong. This Buddhist architectural work was built on a land area of about 2,000m2, located in Van Son ward, Do Son town.

The four corners of the tower are tilted 190 degrees inwards. The tower is hollow and houses the Amitabha statue. The structure is built with bricks and stones of different sizes.

In addition to the bricks, there are also bricks covering the tower's outer shell with unique decorative art such as lotus, chrysanthemum, and lemon flowers. This decoration represents the typical art of the Ly Dynasty.

According to the book "Dai Viet Su Luoc", in the year of Mau Tuat 1058, King Ly Thanh Tong, after passing Ba Lo sea, stopped here to build a tower. Later, he dreamed of a golden dragon and gave the tower the name Tuong Long, meaning "Seeing a golden dragon appear" to remember the good omen. Some people also believe that Do Son seaport is one of the cradles that accepted the construction of a tower here to worship Buddha. In the past, this place may have been an observation post in the "light transmission" system. Whenever there was a disturbance, the coastal observation posts would burn dry grass to let the smoke rise into the sky, transmitting an alarm signal to the capital.

Through the remaining relics, it can be seen that Tuong Long tower was built at the same time as Bao Thien tower in Thang Long citadel (now the area of Hanoi Opera House). According to "Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi", the old Do Son tower was 100 meters high, built on a 1000m2 land area, had 9 floors, and the door opened to the west. A meter is 0.45m long, so the tower was about 45m high, and was located on a mountain 100m above sea level, so this tower was the tallest compared to the towers in Vietnam at that time. Tuong Long tower was renovated and restored many times during the Tran and Le dynasties, but in the 3rd year of Gia Long (1804), the Nguyen dynasty destroyed the tower to get bricks to build Hai Duong citadel. This proves that the ancient Tuong Long tower was extremely large and imposing.

From the location of Tuong Long tower, one can see the sea with ships sailing into the bay, see Do Son town with villages, green fields, and understand why the ancients cleverly chose the location to build the tower. Hopefully Tuong Long tower will soon be ranked, preserved, and restored so that visitors have the opportunity to admire a valuable work in many aspects of architecture, religious sculpture and culture of the 11th century.

Temple

Nghe Temple is located at the intersection of Me Linh and Le Chan streets, Hai Phong. The temple worships General Le Chan - the person who built An Bien Trang (Hai Phong).

Room today), and together with Hai Ba Trung raised the flag of uprising against the invaders. The temple is beautiful with a moderate scale but has long become one of the famous historical relics and scenic spots of the locality.

Legend has it that she lived wisely and died sacredly. When she threw herself into the river, she turned into a stone and floated on the surface of Kinh Thay River. From the river section of Dong Trieu, her old hometown, to Da wharf (now Binh wharf), she bobbed and spun on the water. The people of An Bien village knew that she had become a saint, so they gathered together to bring poles and ropes to the river to retrieve and carry the sacred stone back. When they were carrying it to the current Nghe Temple area, a sudden storm arose and the ropes broke. The villagers chose the area where the stone fell to build a temple to worship her.

At first, the temple was just a small shrine with a thatched roof. In 1919, the Nghe temple was rebuilt as it is today.

The Nghe Temple has the architectural style of the Nguyen Dynasty, including the harem, the incense burning house, the left wing, the right wing, the worshiping house... This is a closed space, a unique and harmonious traditional style. From the entrance gate, on the right is the stele house built and decorated in the style of a dragon pavilion. In the middle is a stone stele 1.5m high, 0.85m wide, recording the biography of Mrs. Le Chan in Chinese characters.

The temple has two main houses - the Front Hall and the Back Hall. The roof of the Front Hall has the prominent Chinese characters "An Bien ancient temple". Between the Front Hall and the Back Hall is the two-story Thien Huong house with a roof of a gable roof. In the back hall is a statue of Lady Le Chan, with her parents worshipped on both sides.

In 1919, the Temple's Back Palace was built. In 1926, the Front Hall was built. The Front Hall has 5 compartments supported by 16 square ironwood columns placed on 16 square stone bases. The Back Hall has two floors of roof higher than the Front Hall, with three compartments also supported by 16 cylindrical ironwood columns, on 16 cylindrical stone bases. The bases are decorated with carvings of Bodhi leaves. Over 100 panels are carved in the "bong hinh" style, very skillfully, bearing the tradition of many centuries ago.

When visiting Nghe Temple, visitors often pay attention to two unique relics - the Stone Bell and the Stone Bed. The bell is made from a 5cm thick slab of stone.

separated into the shape of a gong (1m high, 1.6m wide). The front of the gong is embossed with 2 dragons facing the moon and clouds flying around. The back of the gong is engraved with clouds flying and water waves, both sides have 2 round, high knobs for knocking. The sound of the stone gong resonates softly, spreading, leading us to the mystical and sacred spiritual realm.

Relic site of Trinh Trinh Nguyen Binh Khiem

The relic site of Trang Trinh Nguyen Binh Khiem was built in Trung Am village, Ly Hoc commune, Vinh Bao district, Hai Phong city. The relic site includes 9 attractions: Kinh Thien Pen Tower, Trang Trinh Temple, Exhibition House, Trang Trinh's father's tomb, Bach Van Hermitage, Trang Trinh statue, Crescent Lake, Song Mai Pagoda, the Ancestor House of the Pagoda with the statue of Lady Minh Nguyet, Stele and Trung Tan Restaurant. The total area is 4 hectares from the Temple to the bank of the Han River.

According to legend, Kinh Thien Pen Tower was built by students to praise Trang Trinh's talent as a pillar supporting the sky.

The Temple was built on the old foundation of Trang Trinh's house in 1586. Over time and war, the temple was destroyed and has been rebuilt and restored many times. Today, the Temple has 3 front rooms and 2 back rooms. In front of the Temple, there are 2 round and square lakes symbolizing heaven and earth. In the Temple, there is a statue of Trang Trinh in court clothes. The large horizontal lacquered board in the middle has 4 words "An Nam ly hoc" from the sentence "An Nam ly hoc huu trinh tuyen" meaning knowledgeable about philosophy in An Nam, there is Trinh Tuyen Hau (the title of Nguyen Binh Khiem), presented by Chu Xan, an envoy of the Qing Dynasty (China). In particular, there are some parallel sentences clearly stating his political views on worldly affairs and later generations praise his merits.

The exhibition introduces his life and career, his contributions to literature, philosophy, education and the respect of later generations. Notably, there is the book Bach Van Thi Tap.

The statue of Trang Trinh is 5.7m high, weighs 8.5 tons and is made of cast granite. The statue is in a sitting position, holding a book in his hand, contemplating the state of human affairs. The statue's clothes are those of a Confucian scholar who lived simply and was close to the people. Ho Ban

Some solutions to develop cultural tourism in Hai Phong - 4

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