Tourism and cultural Resources
27/07/2016 12:46:13 AM
Dong Trieu's other key resource is its rich collection of national cultural sites, some of which hold large national significance. The Central Government has recognized the Tran dynasty historical relic in Dong Trieu Town in 2013. In addition, there are other national ranked relics such as the My Cu pagoda. The historical and cultural values of these relics create strong potential in tourism, particularly in spiritual and eco-tourism.
Dong Trieu is located at the gateway to the west of Quang Ninh province, possesses a convenient transport infrastructure comprised of road, waterway, railway. The town is close to Halong – a political, economic, social, and tourism center of Quang Ninh province. Dong Trieu is a place with a long history and established revolutionary tradition. For its history, it is a sacred land with extraordinary people, in which many cultural heritages are preserved, with 121 monuments spread across 21communes and wards. Among them, 22 of those monuments were ranked, including: 01 Tran Dynasty historic parks classified as special national site, containing 14 special relics; 04 are ranked national monuments; 17 are ranked provincial relics. The local residents have preserved hundreds of relics and artifacts with historical, cultural and scientific value. It is the invaluable heritage preserved by many gererations of land and people in Dong Trieu. Dong Trieu is the original homeland of the Tran dynasty - one of the most powerful feudal dynasties in the history of Vietnam. The Tran dynasty established Dong Trieu as a region of temples, shrines and tombs of eight kings of Tran dynasty, along with many other works of religious spirituality. In particular, An Sinh Temple and the Tomb of King Tran have been ranked national level relics since 1962. On December 09th 2013, the historical zone of the Tran Dynasty in Dong Trieu was ranked as a special national relic by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 2383 / QD-TTg.
The Tran dynasty special national relic is a complex consisting of 14 relics, including temples, tombs, hermitages, towers, temples and religious buildings of the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400). The 14 relics are: 02 temple and shrine (Thai temple, An Sinh temple); 07 tomb monuments (Tu Phuc Tomb, Thai Tomb, Muc Tomb, Ngai Son Tomb, Phu Son Tomb, Nguyen Tomb, Dong Hy Tomb); and 05 pagoda monuments (Quynh Lam Pagoda, Trung Tiet Pagoda, Ngoa Van Pagoda, Ho Thien Pagoda, Ngoc Thanh Pagoda). Dong Trieu Town played an important role in the history of existence and development of Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen, and in the history of Buddhism in Vietnam in general. For the basis of preserving and promoting the heritage values of the area, on February 07th, 2013, the Prime Minister signed Decision No. 307/2013 / QDTTG approving the master plan for conservation and promotion of the value of the Tran dynasty historical relic in Dong Trieu, Quang Ninh province with an area of 2.206 ha and planning study area is 11.095 ha in the communes: Binh Khe, An Sinh, Trang An, Thuy An. Given these cultural advantages, Dong Trieu Town has favorable conditions to harness these cultural heritages to serve Dong Trieu’s tourism sector and spur socio-economic development.
Tangible cultural assets
Ngoa Van Pagoda
Ngoa Van Pagoda is one of the relics located in the Tran dynasty special national relic in Dong Trieu Town. The pagoda was ranked as a special national relic in 2013.Ngoa Van Pagoda is the place where the King - Buddhist Emperor Tran Nhan Tong led his religious life and attained nirvana. The King - Buddhist Emperor Tran Nhan Tong is considered a hero in the 2 wars against the Mongolian invaders, establishing a long-lasting prosperous peaceful reign throughout Dai Viet After the war against the Mongol invasion in the thirteenth century, he founded Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen of the Vietnamese Buddhist branch, and is revered as a Buddhist sage who is thought to have attained nirvana.
An Sinh Temple:
An Sinh temple - formerly called as An Sinh palace - is located in Trai Loc village, An Sinh commune, Dong Trieu Town. Temple was built in Tran dynasty. Under Le and Nguyen, An Sinh temple was used to worship the Tran kings. Over the vicissitudes of history, the architectural works built, restored, embellished under the Tran, Le and Nguyen dynasties were destroyed. From 1997 - 2000, Dong Trieu Town People's Committee restored An Sinh temple on the old base, called An Sinh temple. Embellished An Sinh temple includes the main temple, “ta vu”,” huu vu” and campus. The main temple structure is flat shaped with Tien Duong (Front Hall), Trung Duong (Middle Hall) and Harem.
Harem is used to worship 8 Tran kings, Middle Hall is used to worship Hung Dao kings - Tran Quoc Tuan - an outstanding hero in Tran dynasty; Front Hall is for ceremonies. "Huu vu" is to worship Ho Chi Minh President. "Ta vu" is to display the Cultural Heritages of Tran dynasty in Dong Trieu. There is an overview of the typical value of the Tran dynasty relics in Dong Trieu. Besides, it also displays some typical and unique artifacts which were excavated, collected at the monuments. In particular, there are two relics: lotus-shaped golden boxesand pottery pot of brown flower decorated with 8 dragons in body, these relics are classified as national treasures of Vietnam. Annually, on the 20th of the 8th lunar month, An Sinh temple festival is organized. The festival takes place in 3 days, attracting thousand people and tourists.
Quynh Lam Pagoda
Quynh Lam Pagoda, part of the Tran Dynasty special national relic, was built during the Ly dynasty and has been renovated several times under the Tran, Le, Trinh, and Nguyen dynasties. In Tran dynasty, the Pagoda was renovated and expanded to become "Dai Gia Lam" and Quynh Lam became a major center of Buddhism in Truc Lam Zen; the Buddhist Maitreya statue in the Pagoda is known as one of the "Four Treasures of Annam" in the Ly-Tran dynasties. The three forefathers of the pagoda were Truc Lam Dieu Ngu Giac Hoang Tran Nhan Tong, Phap Loa and Huyen Quang; they all studied and abboted here. From the eleventh to the fourteenth century and from the seventeenth century to the eighteenthcentury, Quynh Lam Pagoda developed into a center of Buddhism, and became the first "Buddhist University" training monks for the country Phap Loa played an important role in developing Quynh Lam to become an important Buddhist center – He is the second most important person in Truc Lam Zen. Quynh Lam institute became a preaching center,a monks training center, and hosted many major festivals in Buddhist history. Tran kings and nobles often came here to visit the pagoda and pay their respects. Until now, Quynh Lam pagoda has been restored and embellished with the total investment amount of 163 billion VND by non govermental budget.
Thai temple
Tran Dynasty Mausoleum
Along with An Sinh temple, the temple and Tran dynasty tombs in An Sinh - Dong Trieu are ranked as national relics by the Central Government since 1962. As mentioned above, the Prime Minister recognized the relics as a special national monument in Dong Trieu Town. The temples and tombs of the Tran Kings are scattered in a radius of 15km2, around An Sinh and Thuy An communes, Dong Trieu Town. Dong Trieu is an area where many tombs and graves of key Tran dynasty historical figures are located. The architecture, landscape architecture and size of each shrine describe the history, aesthetics and character of each king buried here. Today, this area is a sacred place of spiritual tourists in the country and holds great historical and cultural value of Vietnam's history.
Dong Trieu holds many festivals every year. However, most of them are local festivals and are held at communal and ward level. A notable festival held at the town level is traditional festival at An Sinh temple. The cultural festival is usually held in the spring after the Lunar New Year. The festival lasts for several days, allowing people to enjoy their leisure time after a year of hard work. The festival is a cultural beauty, with deep spiritual meaning in the Vietnamese community and is also valuable hints for international travelers.
Traditional festivals:
Heritage
Every year, Dong Trieu Town has over 40 festivals. There is 1 festival organized at district level (An Sinh temple festival), 09 festivals organized at commune or town level: Nha Ba temple festival (Hoang Que commune); Non Dong Pagoda Festival (Mao Khe ward), Nhue Ho Pagoda Festival (Kim Son ward), My Cu Pagoda festival (Hung Dao ward), Trao Ha - Di Ai Temple Festiaval (Duc Chinh ward), Quynh Lam Pagoda Festival (Trang An commune), An Bien Temple Festival (Thuy An commune), Bac Ma Pagoda festival (Binh Duong commune); Ho Lao Pagoda-Temple Festival (Tan Viet commune). Most of the folk festivals are organized annually. The remaining more than 20 festivals are organized by villages in combination with the monks and relic management board. In some relics, people only organize rituals without festivals.
Along with the renovation and inauguration of the An Sinh temple - a place of worship 8 Tran kings having the tombs in An Sinh - Dong Trieu. Since the year 2000, the An Sinh temple festival has been a celebrated tradition. The festival lasts for three days, from 20 of the 8th month to 22 of 8th month in the lunar calendar.
Craft villages
Currently, the town has 10 companies and 54 ceramic production facilities, concentrated mainly in the communes of Yen Tho, Xuan Son, Binh Duong, Mao Khe ward, and Duc Chinh. Notable craft villages include Dong Thanh craft village and Vinh Hong craft village. Dong Trieu Town has also added new craft villages to produce traditional rattan, embroidered yarn, etc.
Vietnamese village tourist resort in Yen Khanh village, Yen Duc
The Vietnamese village tourist resort in Yen Khanh village, Yen Duc commune, commonly known as Yen Duc village to international tourists, is located in Yen Duc Commune, Dong Trieu Town, 60km West of Halong city. It was recognized as a national relic in 1993. Yen Duc is a peaceful village with poetic scenery, charming rivers, historical mountains, and many sacred legends and relics associated with Tran Dynasty. The Yen Duc countryside is one of the few villages in the entire Northern Delta area which still retains the traditional agricultural characteristics of Vietnamese villages. The revolutionary historical relic cluster and Yen Duc heritage site were recognized as national monuments in 1993 with spectacular mountains. The beauty of the gold fields in harvest time creates a typical Vietnamese village in the Northern Delta area.
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