Hung Yen Tourism development potentials

Tourism potentials

Hung Yen is a delta province in the North, having a favourable road, waterway and railway system for social, cultural and economic exchanges and development. Hung Yen is the homeland of paddy rice field, gardens and lotus ponds with famous specialities including sweet orange and logan. Hung Yen is also the place that celebrities including great famous physician Hai Thuong Lan Ong and general Pham Ngu Lao rose up originally. And the province is the homeland of the late Party Secretary Nguyen Van Linh and Uncle Ho’s mother.

Hung Yen is also a special traditional cultural treasure of the Red river delta region with traditional operetta songs, traditional singing (hat a dao), and alternate songs with drum accompaniments (hat trong quan) fervid associating with many famous cultural and historic relics including Pho Hien, Da Hoa Da Trach relics correlating with Chu Dong Tu – Tien Dung legend.

According to statistics, the province has more than 900 cultural and historic relics, of which 132 relics are nationally classified with thousands of valuable materials and objects. Particularly, the relics of Pho Hien, Ham Tu and Bai Say are valuable cultural tourism resources for tourism development.

List of the vestige density in the province

No	Location	Area	Number of relics	Density	Number of classified relics	Density
	Total	923	980	1.062	132	0.143
1	Hung Yen town	22.15	59	2.664	12	0.542
2	Van Lam district	79.1	52	0.657	12	0.152
3	My Hao district	71.79	74	1.031	09	0.125
4	Yen My district	74.42	148	1.998	15	0.202
5	Khoai Chau district	90.99	74	0.813	20	0.219
6	Van Giang district	130.08	52	0.399	12	0.092
7	An Thi district	128.21	140	1.092	14	0.109
8	Kim Dong district	118.62	158	1.332	15	0.126
9	Phu Cu district	93.82	94	1.222	06	0.064
10	Tien Lu district	115.09	148	1.277	17	0.148

It can be seen that the density of relics is highest in three areas including Hung Yen town – Kim Dong, Pho Noi – Yen My and Da Hoa, Da Trach in Khoai Chau district.

Pho Hien - Hung Yen town cultural and historic vestige zone

Include relics in Hung Yen town and some parts of Tien Lu and Kim Dong districts. This relic group is located on the bank of Red river, being a political, economic and cultural centre of old and now Hung Yen. Having beautiful landscapes, the diverse cultural and historic relics of Pho Hien are formed by the diverse traditions of Chinese, Japanese and European people. Pho Hien was famous and now is more famous whenever mentioning Van Mieu, Pho pagoda, Chuong pagoda, Tran temple, Mau temple and May temple. Typical pagoda and temple architecture in Pho Hien relic group includes these pagodas:

Hien pagoda (Tran dynasty): there is one ancestor logan tree at the pagoda. Legend has it that fruits of the logan tree were picked and offered to the Buddha and worshipped God and used by mandarins to offer to the King. The pagoda is considered as the symbol of Hung Yen.

Chuong pagoda: is located in Nhan Duc village, Hien Nam precinct, Hung Yen town. One special characteristic of the pagoda that must be mentioned is the stone stele of 165 cm high, 110 cm wide. The stele was built in year New Cat (Tan Mao) and decorated with the dragon attending to the sun.

Mau temple: is considered as the most beautiful landscape of Pho Hien; green Ban Nguyen lake is in front; Nguyet Ho street is one on side and wide and spacious Dai Ha dyke is on the other side. The temple is famous with ancient fig and banian trees which are approximate 800 years old in front of the temple, attracting ten thousands of visitors.

Van Mieu (Temple of Literature): is provincial Van Mieu and also called as Van Mieu Xich Dang. Van Mieu is located on a high land area and about 4000m² wide in Xich Dang village, Lam Son precinct. The most precious relics of Van Mieu are nine steles writing laureates of the former competition-examinations. Van Mieu is the vestige demonstrating the traditional fondness for learning of Hung Yen people.

Passing through many ups and downs and changes, the old Pho Hien is only recorded in legends and in some relics. If Pho Hien is invested and restored, the area will become a very attractive historic and cultural tour sights for domestic and foreign visitors including road and waterway tours to visit and take part in festivals as well as to research.

Da hoa – Da Trach, Ham Tu – Bai Say vestige zones

Most areas of this tour zone are located near Red river, having beautiful landscapes and fresh air. The Chu Dong Tu – Tien Dung legend and festival is a part of this vestige zone, which is ranked by the State as one of national important cultural and historic vestiges. Tourists can visit rural ecological landscapes including Red river plain, garden village, and Xuan Quan pottery and china trade village.

Hai Thuong Lan Ong – Pho Noi Vestige Zone

This zone is typified with the great famous physician Le Huu Trac vestige and many unique architectural temples and pagodas including Lang pagoda in Nhu Lang village, Minh Hai, Van Lam, Thai Lac pagoda in Thai Lac village, Lac Hong, Van Lam district, temple worshipping famous general Ly Thuong Kiet in Yen My district, Hung temple in An Thi district, Da Nguu temple in Van Giang district and commemoration place of General Party Secretary Nguyen Van Linh.

The vestige is located close to Hanoi, on the National Route no. 5, linking tourism centres Hanoi – Pho Noi – Hai Phong- Quang Ninh. In addition to temples and pagodas, tourists can visit trade villages of copper casting, silver carving, medicinal plants and crude soy sauce.

Traditional festivals

Hung Yen is a plain province associating with the paddy rice civilisation. Hung Yen is characterised with many festivals demonstrating clearly people, traditions, and customs which, in turn, show its gratitude to the heaven, god water, wish for a comfortable and happy life, thank accredited people and worship national heroes. The unique features of many traditional festivals in Hung Yen are water procession festivals that usually associate with Red river including Mau temple, Da Trach temple and Da Hoa temple festivals.

Other tourism resources

Traditional handicraft villages: Dai Dong trade village – copper casting village in Dai Dong commune, Van Lam district; Phu Ung silver carving in Phu Ung village, An Thi district; bamboo and rattan weaving trade villages in Tien Lu district; carpet weaving and embroidery in Phu Cu and Kim Dong districts; musk incense village in Cao Thon, Bao Khe commune, Noi Le – Noi Thuyen in An Vien commune, Tien Lu district; Xuan Quan pottery and china; and industrial leather garment in Ngoc Loan, Cu Dung, Tu Trung and Van Lam.

Speciality and Food Culture: Hung Yen People are endowed by the nature, land and river with precious specialities having rich local characteristics, of which are fruits and unique dishes including:

• Pho Hien logan: Logan is the God's gift for Pho Hien. Hung Yen is famous throughout the country for its logan. It is amazing that on Red river delta plain, only Pho Hien logan is considered as the king of logan species. Le Quy Don scientist had described "each time put the logan into the mouth, the fragrance is tasted like holy water to each tooth and the tongue". Which micro-components make Pho Hien logan to have different special taste to logan in other areas? Logan is densely grown in dyke edges from Dang Chau, Xich Dang to Luoc estuary. With bumper harvest, the turnover of the whole province is estimated of approximate VND 150-200 billion. Currently, around Hung Yen town and surrounding areas, many households have planted transplanted and grafted logan trees in plantations, which honey-bee keeping activities are integrated under the tree shade – a precious medicine. The area is endowed with interminable logan farms. Tourists to Hung Yen usually visit the tribute logan tree (usually called as ancestor logan) that is hundreds of years old in front of Hien pagoda.

• Lotus: If logan is praised as a king of fruit species, lotus is the queen of flower species. Lotus is planted along the Red river dyke from Van Giang to Luoc estuary to La Tien and Phu Cu. Lotus is not only a beautiful flower but also its parts can be used as medicine: lotus seed is used to cure neurasthenia and insomnia; lotus seed centre with bitter taste can cure palpitation and can be a sedative; simmered dry lotus seed-pod can stop the bleedings in haemorrhage defecation and urination, grains in lotus flowers to scent tea; lotus seed is used to make the sugar-preserved lotus seeds. In Lunar New Year (tet) or full moon festivals, Hung Yen girls usually prepare some sugar-preserved lotus seeds to sell in shops to imply to look for a husband.

• Bun thang (noodle in chicken soup): Hung Yen people usually go to the foot of fig tree to have a bowl of 'bun thang' of The Ky cafe whenever they come to visit the homeland. The cafe is nameless; regular customers call the cafe by the name of the owner. Hung Yen people call the owner as 'bun thang' which is a colourful art work: the white colour of Van Tieu noodle as the background, yellow of eel and chicken; the picture is enhanced with persicaria, prawn sauce and in particular the soup. It is not difficult but not easy to cook 'bun thang'; materials are made in Hung Yen and medium-cooked, not two rare and not too well-done. Eel is burned before being slaughtered in order not to lose blood. 'Bun thang' is a nutritious dish and is also nostalgia of Hung Yen.

• Crude soy sauce (tuong ban): ''Soy sauce and egg-plant are family basics". Soy sauce is a community food. Crude soy sauce is famous because it is made from large-grain sticky rice, small-grain soy bean, and in particular digged-well water to make the sauce. There is only one well in Ban village to supply the water to make the soy sauce, which is not used for shower and other activities. Sauce making is an art. Soy beans must be roasted with soil; the bean is brown and then fermented with sweet potatoes and lotus leaves; mould is formed; the form must be spongy and light; the jar must be clean and soaked in water for several times; the sauce must be fermented in sunny days; then a stick (the stick type is always used for stirring the soy) is used to stir well from top to bottom of the jar for several times then the jar is covered with a china bucket; sunlight not heat is prevented; the longer the soy sauce is ripen, the better it is.

• Phuong Tuong frog simmer: ''Miss wife and children when travelling far, miss Phuong Tuong frog simmer whenever be home". Phuong Tuong village is in Tien Lu district. The old folk verse demonstrates that the rural but traditionally characteristic food has been put into the food-art. The frog can be made into different dishes.

• Frog meat pie: Initially the skin is cleanly peeled. It must be careful not to piece the skin from the mouth to legs. The frog meat mixed with dry kumquat peel, cat's ear, dry mushroom, belly port, egg, pepper, chilly, and salt then is ground in the mortar. The mixture is then stuffed into the skin to mimic the thin frog as it will swell when being steamed. Just right before taking the frog out, pour the stirred egg over the frog to look like a loopah flower. This traditional speciality will be unforgettable when you try it.

• Frog simmer: internal organs are taken out; the fat is kept; put the frog on the chopping board, use the knife spine to thrash the frog until the bone is soft but the shape of the frog still remains; the frog is then mixed with spices including ferment, dry kumquat peel, cat's ear, pepper, prawn sauce and then soaked in fat oil for half an hour; the mixture is wrapped with a bamboo thread; then is simmered with bamboo shoot, belly pork; only cook with low heat; when the frog is done, only one bowl of soup is left and the soup is brown; frog must be tender; this dish can be served with lettuce. The course is unforgettable.

• Rice cake (Banh day) of Gau village: rice cake in Gau village (Cuu Cao commune, Van Giang district) has been famous for many generations like Truong Xa wine and crude soy sauce. The cake is made from sticky rice The rice is washed cautiously, soaked in water, steamed and then well-ground; the cake stuffing is made from green bean that is washed, steamed, well-kneaded and pressed into balls; the stuffing can be pork or can be green bean mixed with sugar. A special feature of Gau village rice cake is that the sticky rice must be cropped in Gau village and soaked in Gau well water and made by skilful hands of Gau girls to produce lovely and delicious cakes. Gau village rice cakes are ordered by near and far customers with a large volume to use for workshops and weddings. Tet comes and the spring gets nearer, the rice cake is solemnly displayed in the alter to worship the ancestors. This is also cultural beauty of the region.

• Tieu Quan grilled chopped chicken: Grilled chopped chicken in Tieu Quan village, Phung Hung commune, Khoai Chau district is famous across the region. Grilled chopped chicken is very difficult to make; vein and bone are excluded; Lean chicken is selected and then minced and ground in the mortar; when the meat is nearly done it is mixed with egg yolk, high-quality fish sauce, pepper, ginger, tiny fat cubes, which is then ground again; spathe is used to take and spread the meat on the bamboo stick for grilling; if the meat layer is thin, it will be burned and falls on the stove; if the meat layer is thick, the meat will not ripe evenly. The meat is grilled by char coal and the food will be better by logan coal, in particular dry pine cone is put into the coal, the smell is better. Eating the grilled chopped chicken is to enjoy a unique dish, not like other coarse food. During Tet holidays, with cold weather, friends gather and drink Truong Xa wine with grilled chopped chicken, time is forgotten.