A place to remember

The national relic of Dong Loc, an intersection of Tro Voi, Mui Mac and Moi mountains in Can Loc District, Ha Tinh Province, is not a popular destination for tourists.

Most of the visitors are locals and veterans who go there to burn incense and remember ten young heroines, Vo Thi Tan, Ho Thi Cuc, Nguyen Thi Nho, Ha Thi Xanh, Tran Thi Rang, Nguyen Thi Xuan, Vo Thi Ha, Tran Thi Huong, Vo Thi Hoi, and Duong Thi Xuan.

During the American war the Dong Loc intersection was a vital artery of transportation connecting the North and the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The ten girls were among thousands of people who fought to keep it open.

On 24 July 1968 a bomb fell killing all the girls. The Vietnamese honored these girls as heroes. They have been the subject of documentary films and a movie.

When the war ended, Dong Loc intersection became a historic relic. A victory statue, square, mini museum, soldiers' relics and the graves of the ten heroes, among others, are located here, covered by a beautiful pine forest.

While we were there two men and a woman came. It was noon and the sun was burning hot, but the couple stayed to pray at the memorial site. One man, who was in battledress, stood for a long time by the graves, slowly offering incense at every grave.

The woman who cleans the relics said that the 10 graves are always covered with incense. One visitor has also planted flowers and placed a palm-leaf conical hat on the girls' graves. Some of visitors cry when they hear tour guides about the history of what happened here, about the girls about the war.

Dong Loc intersection relic can reached by taxi or motorbike from Vinh airport in Vinh City.

Historic festival in the land of the Le dynasty

Construction of the Lam Kinh citadel, also known as Tay Kinh (West citadel) began in 1433. The citadel is located in Xuan Lam Commune, approximately 50 kilometers from Thanh Hoa City, in north-west Vietnam. The citadel is both an original imperial temple of the latter Le dynasty and the historic location of the Tay Son uprising.

Lam Kinh sits in a stately manner on the Chu River, with Chu Son mountain in the distance and with its back to Dau mountain. It lays a leisurely arm on Phu Lam forest and Ngoc mountain on the eastern side, and another on the Huong and Ham Rong range of mountains on the western side. Whilst the citadel still enjoys the natural scenery of hills and rivers around it, many architectural works inside have been destroyed.

However recent preservation projects have restored some of the more significant artifacts, such as the main palace, tombstone houses, King Le's temple, the temple of national hero Le Lai and King Le Hien Tong's tomb and stele, to name a few.

Lam Kinh citadel covers an area larger than 86,000 square meters. It can be reached by the Bach bridge, crossing over the Ngoc (jade) stream inside the main gate.

The courtyard in front of the palace comes into sight solemnly behind the Ngoc (jade) well, which obstructs the view from the Ngo Mon gate. The 1,700 square meters main palace is about 1.8 meter higher than the yard and carefully designed in the "Cong" (Work) style of Quang Duc, Sung Hieu, and Dien Khanh temples. Dragon-shaped corridors wind around the nine steps from Quang Duc temple to the yard, revealing the great magnificence of the ancient royal court.

The spacious royal temple of ancestors separated from the main palace by a tiled floor includes the nine buildings where the kings and queens of the Le dynasty are worshipped. Lam Kinh historic location is also the site of a number of important royal tombs and tombstones, including Vinh Lang stone stele, Huu tomb of king Le Thai Tong and Chieu tomb of Le Thanh Tong. Situated in the north of the main palace, the Vinh Lang relic of the founder of the dynasty is famous for its delicate flowery decoration and farewell letters of famous cultural scholar Nguyen Trai.

This year's Lam Kinh festival promises to be a momentous event. It is the 590th anniversary of the Lam Son up rising, the 580th anniversary of the coronation of king Le Thai To, and the 575th death anniversary of the national hero Le Loi. The festival will take place from September 19 to 21 with many festive activities taking place in temples 4,5, and 6, in Xuan Lam Commune and in other venues around Thanh Hoa City. Martial art and wrestling competitions as well as traditional opera and folk song performances will take place in the Xuan Lam Commune, and the Lam Kinh Management Committee will house antiques from the Le dynasty, artistic pictures, and a food market. An impressive parade will be held at Le Lai temple to mark the occasion of the anniversary of the hero's death.

The festival will be broadcast live on Vietnam Television on September 21 in the morning.

Pilgrimage to nation’s roots

The secrets of little-known beauty spots and cultural treasures in northwestern provinces Yen Bai, Lao Cai and Phu Tho are being revealed in a new tourism programme.

The 2008 tourist event, entitled Pilgrimage to the Roots, is set totake place from February to November next year.

The festival aims at putting the spotlight on these unexplored areas to boost local and international tourism, organisers said at a press briefing in HCM City last weekend.

"We also want to get these sites on the lists of local and foreign travel companies," they said. The co-operative programme will zoom in on creating special tourist destinations based on natural and cultural charms. To succeed, the programme must reach the largest audience possible.

Great reservoir

In May, visitors can explore the legends and natural beauty that surround Thac Ba Temple (Mother Temple) in Yen Binh District, Yen Bai Province. The temple, set in the face of Hoang Thi Mountains opposite the meandering Chay River, has been a place of worship for centuries. Local folk stories tell of how Ngoc Hoa, daughter of the 18th King Hung, worshipped the Mother Goddess and other deities here.

Not far away is Thac Ba Lake, the biggest reservoir in Viet Nam. Here visitors can get a glimpse – and a taste – of life in local villages of the Dao, Tay and Cao Lan ethnic minority groups.

The Dao also have a traditional festival of their own, which celebrates the new rice crop with dances and special fish dishes, such as ven (bream), qua (snake-head) and bong tuong (gobie). Visitors can also sample sweet Dai Minh mandarins, pommelos and golden rice from Muong Lo, the second biggest rice granary in western Viet Nam.

Archaeological wonderland Hum Cave is where scientists discovered traces of 100,000-year-old humans and thousands of fossils from 30 animal species. To really get involved in local life, tourists can also climb 100-year old tea trees and pluck the young buds with Mong girls or walk through pomu forests to Tap Lang Waterfall.

Other festivals will be held at Cuong Temple in Van Yen District, Dai Cai Temple in Luc Yen District and Tuan Quan Temple in Yen Bai Town, as well as a number of seminars, trade fairs, and cultural weeks.

Cultural cradle

Nestled between mountainous north-western provinces and the capital city lies Phu Tho Province. Only 70km north of Ha Noi, the area sits in the triangle created by the Red, Da, and Lo rivers and is bordered by Ba Vi and Tam Dao mountains, where the ancient Viet people lived under the Hung Kings of Van Lang.

Rich in natural beauty, Ao Gioi (Pond of God) and Suoi Tien (Fairy Stream) embroider the mountainous landscape creating 99 small waterfalls.

Travellers can also visit 15,000ha of forest in Xuan Son National Park in Thanh Son District and explore the 14 mysterious caves nearby.

To relax after a long day’s trek, visitors can also take a trip to Thanh Thuy District famous hot mineral springs, which have an average temperature of 44 degree C and are said to have healing qualities.

Phu Tho is also home to more than 1,370 pagodas, temples, tombs and communal houses, such as King Hung Temple, Mau Au Co Temple, Phu Thanh and Bong Lai pagodas and Hung Lo and Dao Xa communal houses. On a visit to the province, travellers get the chance to look back in time at life for the Viet people in the stone and bronze ages, with displays of ancient artefacts found in Phung Nguyen, Son Vi, Go Mung and Lang Ca.

Bustling border town

A hub of activity, Lao Cai boasts 27 different ethnic groups. Located on the border of China’s Yunnan Province, the area is likely to become a gateway for tourism, as travellers from China and other regional countries can enter and leave via the province.

Local traditions come to life in the new year festival roong poc which celebrates the return to harvest with the xoe dance, and the spring festival at Thuong and Bao Ha temples in Lao Cai Town. Tourists can also visit several caves in Muong Vi, Sa Pa’s ancient standing stones, and the palace of Meo King Hoang A Tuong on the Bac Ha plain.

Already a hive for tourism, Lao Cai offers a variety of tour packages including hiking, eco-tourism, mountain climbing, relaxation, sports and historical discovery. Sa Pa, the most popular destination in Lao Cai, lies a small distance from 3,143m Mt Fansipan, the highest in Indochina. The area is famous for its breath-taking views and 700 species of flora and fauna.

Bac Waterfalls, May Bridge, the orchid garden, Ham Rong Mountains, Ta Phin brocade village, and the Cat Cat cultural preserve village also top the tourist must-do list.

Bac Ha, known as the white plain because of its copious spring plum and apricot blossoms, has a busy market day that gathers ethnic minorities from all over the province. Young men and women also head to the market to look for future spouses.

Following a trip to the stalls, visitors can easily fill their time with trips to the waterfalls and mountains linked to the legendary Tien Cave. Going upstream to Bat Xat, tourists can escape the heat with a dip in Muong Hum Stream and visit Muong Vi Cave to learn about traditional local music like the khen (pan-pipe) dance and sao (flute).

Festivities are expected to run from February to November 2008 in the three
provinces with a grand opening ceremony rntitled Hidden Colours to take place on
February 13, 2008, in the city of Yen Bai.These will be followed by events at Au
Co Temple on February 11-13; Thuong and Dong Cuong temples on February 21 and
the biggest Hung Temple from April 13-15.Activities include the Sa Pa Culture
Week and Discovery of Thac Ba in May; a Culture-Tourism Week in Bac Ha and Muong Lo in June and the 2nd International Climbing Contest of Fansipan in
October.

Lake of the Restored Sword

After ten years of hard fighting (1418 - 1428), the Lam Son insurrectionists led by Le Loi swept the foreign invaders out of the country of Dai Viet (Great Viet), ending the Mings 20-year domination over the Viet people. Le Loi became a national hero, proclaiming himself kings, called Le Thai To and establishing his capital in Thang Long

On a beautiful afternoon, the king and his entourage took a dragon-shaped boat for sight-seeing on Luc Thuy (Green Water) Lake, which was located in the centre of Thang Long Capital (present-day Hanoi). As the boat was gliding on the lake, suddenly there was a great wave and on top of the wave, the Golden Tortoise Genie appeared, telling the king: "Your Majesty, the great work is completed. Would you please return the sacred sword to the King of the Sea?".

The precious sword was formerly lent to Le Loi by the King of the Sea and was always beside him throughout his battles and helped him win over the Ming invaders. At the time the Tortoise Genie spoke, the sword hung at the Kings waist. It then moved out of the scabbard and flew towards the Genie. The Genie kept the sword in his mouth and dived under the water and bright lightning flashed up to the sky. Since then, Luc Thuy Lake has been called the Restored Sword Lake or the Sword ake for short.

The Sword Lake is not only a historical site but also a beauty-spot of the capital. When visiting Hanoi, Ludemis, a Greek poet, exclaimed: The Sword Lake - An emerald jewel set in the heart of the city, With the Red River as a silk ribbon around.

It is said that when visiting Hanoi, if the visitor does not see the Sword Lake, then they would not have actually been in Hanoi. The lake is an endless topic and inspiration for painters, poets, writers, music composers, etc, and innumerable works about the lake have been produced.

Once, a famous Japanese painter said to the late-painter Van Giao that he had painted dozens of pictures of Mount Fuji - the second to none beauty spot of Japan. Then painter Van Giao replied by saying that he had painted hundreds of pictures of the Sword Lake.

The Sword Lake is really an emerald jewel of Hanoi. For generations, the Vietnamese believed that deep in the green water of the Sword Lake, there is a sacred sword of their ancestors, which is carefully safeguarded by the golden tortoise. When the weather changes, the tortoise emerges on the water surface to take a sun bath, seeming to prove his existence and remind the young generation of their national history of defending their country from foreign invaders.