Sacred land in the lower Lam Giang river

Go up the mountain to see the scenery

When I first started my journalism career, a teacher in the midland countryside told me: "If you have a lot of time, go to Lam Thanh - Trieu Khau, the lower Lam River to admire the scenery, it will help you have a new perspective on your homeland in the historical and cultural flow."

Landscape of the lower Lam River seen from Lam Thanh Mountain. Photo: Sach Nguyen

Following the teacher’s advice, on weekends when I have some free time, I ride my motorbike towards the Lam River road. Here, worries and troubles seem to be washed away, leaving only a sense of relaxation and peace.

Along the Lam River road, the downstream area of ​​Hung Nguyen district, if we go slowly, we will feel the culture of this very peaceful countryside. The culture is reflected in the relics, a road of less than 7 km has about a few dozen historical and cultural relics that have been ranked, including famous relics such as Hoang Muoi temple, Thanh Liet temple, King Le temple and Lam Thanh mountain...

Lam Thanh Mountain historical site (Hung Nguyen). Photo: Sach Nguyen

The existence of hundreds, even thousands of years old relics is a mark of the cultural source, the longevity of the villages in the lower Lam Giang. Not to mention the ancient communal houses and the mossy tiled roofed family churches, and each village name, mountain name still imprinted with ancient stories and evidence, is the spiritual heritage of future generations.

Coming to Lam Thanh - Trieu Khau area (now Hung Lam, Hung Phu and Hung Khanh communes), I often climbed Lam Thanh mountain - a famous mountain because it was once a stronghold of the invading Ming army. It was also the meeting point and the glorious victory of Lam Son insurgents nearly 600 years ago, paving the way for Le Loi and his generals to liberate Dong Do citadel.

Every time I go up the mountain, I often stand for a long time to admire the scenery near and far, first of all the winding road on the left bank of the Lam River and the green, prosperous villages. The road runs on the surface of the Ta Lam dike (also called dike 42), starting from Nam Dan district, through Hung Nguyen to Ben Thuy. Today it continues down to Cua Hoi, where the river flows into the ocean.

Landscape of the lower Lam River seen from Lam Thanh Mountain. Photo: Sach Nguyen

Even that dike is a miracle of the people of Nghe An in flood control, because many generations have devoted their efforts to building and maintaining it to block the flood water, so that life can always be peaceful. There are also villages outside the dike, which are often flooded every year, causing life to be somewhat disrupted. But from generation to generation, people are always mentally prepared to wait for the days when the water rises.

Going up Lam Thanh mountain, I was free to look into the distance – where there were distant mountains and the river surface was like a mirror reflecting the deep blue sky. Occasionally, boats going back and forth added a touch of life to the ink painting, evoking the harmony between the landscape and the human heart.

Down the mountain to touch the sacred land

As I descended the mountain, I walked down to two of the most ancient temples in the region – Thanh Liet Temple and King Le Temple. Thanh Liet Temple (Hung Lam) is located outside the dike, on the alluvial plain along the river, in front of a large stream. The temple still retains its ancient architecture, the grounds are shaded by ancient trees, all evoking the sacredness of the countryside.

The ancient beauty of Thanh Liet Temple, Hung Lam Commune (Hung Nguyen). Photo: Cong Kien

According to the stele, Thanh Liet Temple was built during the Later Le Dynasty, worshiping the gods who had contributed to protecting the country and the people. The gods worshiped here are mostly associated with life in the river region such as: Phu Tang Cam Lam Dai De Thuy Phu Phu Tang, Thuy Quoc Dong Binh Quan, Ha Ba Thuy Quan Long Vuong Chua Chua, Thuy Tinh phu nhan (Mau Thuy), Long Vuong Chua Te Thuy toc, Sat Hai Dai Vuong Hoang Ta Thon, Nguyen Bieu...

From Thanh Liet Temple, going down to Hung Khanh to burn incense before the altars of the Le Kings, I felt like I was hearing the sound of the army cheering for battle from nearly 600 years ago. Hung Khanh was formerly called Trieu Khau, the place where King Le Loi of Binh Dinh chose as his headquarters to gather food, train and recruit soldiers to besiege the Ming invaders in Nghe An citadel (built on Lam Thanh mountain).

The people of Trieu Khau wholeheartedly supported the Lam Son insurgents, contributing rice to feed the army and enthusiastically joining, with the same determination to drive out the enemy. Thanks to that, they contributed to increasing their strength, pushing the Ming invaders to a desperate situation and forcing them to surrender, and Nghe An citadel fell. Later, King Le Thanh Tong ordered the construction of a temple to worship Le Thai To (Le Loi) in the Trieu Khau area, named King Le Temple.

During the reign of Le Hy Tong, in the Chinh Hoa era (1680 - 1740), the spirit tablets of King Le Thai Tong and King Le Thanh Tong were brought to worship at the King Le temple. Thus, the temple on the sacred land of Trieu Khau is the place to worship the spirit tablets of three wise Le Kings who had great contributions to the spiritual history of the nation.

Reed field on the Lam River bank in Nam Cuong commune (Nam Dan). Photo courtesy

There was still time, I continued upstream of Ta Lam dike, then crossed Yen Xuan bridge (Hung Xuan) to Nam Cuong land (Nam Dan). Here, on the riverbank this season, the reed fields are covered in white flowers, that pure white color has attracted many people to leave the city to enjoy peaceful moments.