Bai Lu - Legends and Ideas
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You first, I later go to Heaven's Gate,
Watch the sunset at Bai Lu.
Mist covers the mountainside of Mo Da's soul,
Over there at the foot of the hill the waves of the ocean...
Bai Lu is located in the Northeast of Nghi Loc district, belonging to Nghi Yen and Nghi Tien communes, in the Southeast Lach Van - Cua Hien - Cua Xa sea arc of Nghe An province. A dense area of mountains and rivers, immense sky and sea with many stories, legends and vivid historical events.
Bai Lu is a beach with beautiful scenery, clear blue water and is located in one of the quietest places in Nghe An. Bai Lu is named after Lu Mountain (Lu Son). The mountain stands tall on the beach, like a wanderer looking for a romantic song mixed in the waves and the deep scent of the homeland of a lovesick young woman. The traveler stopped by the temple, offered incense to Buddha, and then, as if receiving more heat and light from Buddha, decided to stand here. He followed the footsteps, listening to the enchanting song of the sea girl like the Mermaid in the fairy tale. We also seemed to be immersed in the ancient folk tale "Quan Am Thi Kinh" to go with Lu Ngoc to find the beloved girl Tieu Hong in this place?!
On the way to Heaven's Gate - Bai Lu, there is a Temple worshiping the Mountain God and the Holy Mother, originally the Ne Temple where the La Hoang and Khe Ne rivers flow into Cua Hien and was moved here. The section of the river leading to Cua Hien has now been filled in, which is where the tragedy of My Chau was beheaded by her father King An Duong Vuong and she held a rhinoceros horn and walked down the waves into the sea - Bai Lu. My Chau's tomb in La Nham is this place. The Jade Well is the last drop of My Chau's blood that was left for Trong Thuy to look into and turn into a sparkling pearl.
The temple of Princess Bach Y, the beloved daughter of King Ho Quy Ly, is located next to the Iron Canal. The Iron Canal is green with the color of iron ore dyed by Thiet Son (Iron Mountain), also known as Than Vu Mountain, which was once red with blood in the story of Princess Bach Y. The story goes that: The Ming army was actively preparing to invade our country, King Ho Quy Ly and his sons Nguyen Trung and Han Thuong also actively built bases, arranged forces everywhere to fight against the enemy. The king ordered the construction of the Ho Dynasty Citadel on Dai Hue Mountain and mobilized the army and people to dig the Iron Canal to transport food and weapons by river to Dai Hue. The digging of the river lasted for many days without results because of the iron ore and collapsing sand, the soldiers and laborers were exhausted, many people died. King Ho was impatient and brought his beloved princess, who had a charming voice and played the zither very well, here to encourage the army and people to dig the canal faster. The dire situation of the soldiers and laborers digging the canal moved the princess's heart. A kind old man in a nearby village told the princess about a plan to stop her father's canal digging to save the laborers. They had all the Blood Dog trees in the area cut down, chopped them up at night, and scattered them on the canal bed. In the morning, the whole section of the river that was being dug was dyed red with blood, which looked horrifying. The king told his father that the river digging had violated the dragon's vein (broken the dragon's neck), so the canal digging should be stopped. This plan was exposed, and King Ho ordered his beloved daughter to be beheaded on a rock on the bank of the canal as an example. The rock (where the princess was beheaded) was struck by a strong thunderclap in the middle of the day, breaking into two pieces, so it was called Hon Ne. From then on, the princess died unjustly, and every night she appeared as a girl in white wandering along the bank of the Iron Canal. The people felt sorry for her and built a temple to worship her, calling it Bach Y Princess Temple, right next to Hon Ne. Bach Y Princess became a deity - a sacred Holy Mother who protected the people of Nghe An.
During the reign of King Thieu Tri, in the second year (1842), while traveling on the Iron Canal, the king heard about the legend of this place and stopped to compose a poem and had a stone stele carved as a commemorative marker. The stele is still on the mountainside, covered in thorn trees, only about 10m from National Highway 1A in So Mountain, Dien An Commune, Dien Chau District. The poem (translated by the author of this article) is as follows:
Over thousands of mountain peaks, streams flow around,
Listen to the story of the creation of the past.
The Iron Hole is broken and still has a mark,
Heaven open the port of water circulation.
That mysterious reason is strange and magical,
The world is prosperous in this flat land.
No one dares to compare with the mountains of Thuc Valley,
Growing a great tree is wonderful.
The Iron Canal is also called Iron Port, because it flows through iron mountains, so it has that name and is ranked as one of the eight most beautiful landscapes in the ancient Dong Thanh district. The Han map of the Nguyen Dynasty noted about Iron Port as follows: "Iron Port from Cam River to Thien Uy Port, 10 li long, 4 truong wide, 4 xich deep in high tide, 2 xich deep in low tide). 10 li is about 4 km. Thus, the Iron Canal from Cam Bridge runs near Cuong Temple, near My Ly station, at the kilometer marker 27-28 Hanoi - Vinh. This section of the canal, where it turns into Bai Lu, at the marker 21 pointing to Vinh, has a very beautiful Iron Rainbow Bridge across the canal to the Le Dynasty Canal monument. Below the monument relief is a row of stone steles recording the names of the Transport soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the revolutionary cause on the Le Dynasty Canal. The Iron Canal is also an interesting sight for visitors to Bai Lu. On the way from Hanoi to Vinh, from Mo Da Mountain, where An Duong Vuong Temple is located, there are roads, waterways and railways running side by side, winding through the mountains, a vivid picture, worthy of the ancient poetic verses:
The road to Nghe An is winding,
Green mountains and blue water like a painting.
Standing on Lu Mountain, we can see the whole landscape of a large area. To the sea (East - South) we can clearly see Song Ngu, Dao Mat, Lan Chau and closer to the mainland are Hung Linh, Lan Chau, Dragon Mountain, Lo Mountain, Co Mountain, Kiem Mountain, Chuong Ga, Mao Mountain, Tuong Son (Elephant Mountain), Quyet Son. To the North, along the sea are Dau Rong Mountain (Long Thu), Hon The, Hon Cau, Da Son, Cam Son. To the West are Dai Vac, Than Vu, Len Hai Vai, Dai Hai, Dai Ban, Dai Tu, Dai Hue, Thien Nhan, Lam Thanh Son... Cam River with clear blue water flows down to Cua Lo beach on the right of Bai Lu, adding to the beauty of the picture of Heaven's Gate - Bai Lu ocean waves.
With the natural landscape bestowed by nature, some people have compared Bai Lu to a Da Lat on the sea. Bai Lu Investment and Business Joint Stock Company is the investor in building Bai Lu Marine Eco-tourism Area, with an area of nearly 160 hectares, with mountains, forests, and sea. The project is divided into two phases: Phase I (2005 - 2008) - completing the high-class Bai Lu coastal resort. Phase II (2008-2015) builds a 5-star hotel on the mountainside, casino, heliport, miniature Great Wall, golf course, water music, cultural and sports complex and other entertainment services...
Currently, there are quite a few groups of tourists and visitors coming to Bai Lu to relax, bathe, and sightsee. If the Bai Lu project is completed, it will certainly be one of the most ideal resorts in Nghe An and the whole country. Nghi Loc District Chairman Nguyen Bang Toan also has the idea of orienting Bai Lu Eco-tourism Area to be on par with major tourist areas in Southeast Asia, to attract more international tourists!
Dao Tam Tinh -Director of Nghe An Library
