Ancient traces of Tra Lan citadel
Going up National Highway 7A on a hot summer day, I began my journey to find traces of an ancient citadel that was deeply engraved in the nation's history books - Tra Lan citadel. This was an important stronghold that marked the victory of the Lam Son insurgents under the command of Le Loi more than 600 years ago.
Tien Dong• 07/28/2025
According to ancient historical sources such as Lam Son Thuc Luc and Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu, after the victory at Bo Dang, also known as Bu Dang, the land bordering Nghe An and Thanh Hoa (now Quy Chau commune), in 1424, Le Loi and the Lam Son army decided to advance deep into Nghe An to gain a "foothold". Because according to the plan of General Nguyen Chich (some documents call him Le Chich after the king's surname), "Nghe An is a dangerous place, with a large land and a large population... occupying Nghe An to make a foothold, then relying on the strength of the people and the wealth of that land to turn around and attack Dong Do, we can calculate the task of pacifying the world".
In fact, at that time, in Nghe An, the Ming invaders were stationed at many strategic strongholds. Among them, Tra Lan citadel (also known as Tra Long), was a large citadel, located in a dangerous position on the left bank of the Lam River, in the former Bong Khe commune (now Con Cuong commune).
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According to some historical documents, Tra Lan citadel was an ancient citadel, the capital of Tra Lan district, Nghe An province. Bui Duong Lich in Nghe An Ky said that, in addition to the 4 districts with Thanh Giao (ie under the power and education of the king), namely: Duc Quang, Anh Do, Dien Chau, Ha Hoa, Nghe An also had 5 ki mi districts (loosely bound areas, through the local chieftainship system to rule indirectly), including Tra Lan district (including the districts of Ky Son, Hoi Ninh, Tuong Duong, Vinh Khang).
Tra Lan Citadel is described as being located on a 168m high mountain on the north bank of Lam River, near the junction of Con River. This mountain is called Pu Thanh or Pu Don (pu means mountain), formerly belonging to Bong Khe Commune, Con Cuong District, now Con Cuong Commune. This citadel is the place that blocks the "upper road" connecting the Northwest and Southwest of Nghe An, a key point between the mountainous region and the plains. This area has dense mountains and dangerous rivers. The Ming army built this place into an important stronghold to control a large upstream region. The citadel was built according to the shape of the mountain, with a perimeter of about 2 km, with a moat and thick bamboo fence on the outside, guarded by the local prefect Cam Bang and more than 1,000 local soldiers.
After the victory at Bo Dang Mountain in October 1424, destroying more than 2,000 enemies, including Do Ty Tran Trung, capturing many weapons and more than 100 horses, the prestige of Le Loi's army became even more famous. Advancing to Tra Lan citadel, using the tactic of besieging the citadel and cutting off the supply route, Le Loi forced Cam Bang's army in the citadel to fall into isolation. After a period of siege, with no more food and reinforcements, Tra Lan citadel fell.
Later, in the Proclamation of Victory over the Wu (written in 1428), the two glorious battles mentioned above in Nghe An were described by Nguyen Trai through two verses: "The battle of Bo Dang was filled with thunder and lightning/ In Tra Lan, bamboo split and ashes flew." This shows the importance of these battles to the Lam Son insurgents in the process of regaining independence for Dai Viet.
In fact, the battle of Tra Lan citadel was not only a military victory, but also a psychological blow to the Ming army's southwestern defense system of Nghe An. This victory opened a turning point for the Lam Son uprising movement, marking the control of the insurgents in the upper Nghe An region before advancing to the vast plains.
Contrary to its historical position, the traces of Tra Lan citadel today are extremely faint. From the center of Con Cuong commune, we followed National Highway 7A about 3km west, crossed Thanh Nam suspension bridge and followed the concrete road at the foot of the mountain along the Lam river to Tan Hoa village, which is considered by local people and many researchers to be the core area of Tra Lan ancient citadel.
Amidst the vast acacia and cajuput hills, the vestiges of the ancient citadel have been almost hidden. However, the story of Tra Lan citadel is still remembered by the locals, who have even dug up many artifacts believed to date back to the time when Tra Lan citadel was the center of Tra Lan prefecture.
In Tan Hoa village, we were led by Mr. Le Thanh Hai - Party Cell Secretary and Village Chief to see some locations where people had previously excavated many ancient artifacts. On the way, Mr. Hai acted like a tour guide, showing us locations believed to be the ancient Tra Lan citadel. Mr. Hai also said that 4 months ago, he had led a working group from the Department of Heritage of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to survey the Tra Lan citadel.
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According to Mr. Hai, as told by word of mouth from previous generations, Tra Lan citadel stretched over 2 km, surrounded by a deep moat and dense bamboo banks running from the West to the East, hugging many mountain shoulders, from which one could look down on a section of Lam River. The terrain was dangerous, with a river abyss in front and dense forest behind, truly "heavenly dangerous and defensible".
At Mr. Le Van Phuong's house, located near the Lam River bank, also in Tan Hoa village, we were told by Mr. Phuong: His family moved from Thanh Dao village to here in 1978. While digging the foundation for the house, they discovered many ancient bricks and tiles with strange patterns. Especially the bricks were larger and thicker than the current bricks that people often use. Some even had patterns of chrysanthemums and lotus petals. The old people in the village said that these were bricks used to build the citadel during the Le Loi period.
Mr. Phuong said that after many years, those precious bricks were buried under the floor and yard, leaving only a few that he left lying around behind the house.
Taking us to see the ancient bricks, Mr. Phuong seemed quite regretful and said: "At that time, no one had done any archaeology, nor did anyone think about keeping them. Last time, the survey team from the Department of Heritage of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also came to see them" - Mr. Phuong said, pointing to the remaining bricks.
Mr. Phuong also said that in this area, when renovating the garden and digging the house foundation, many families discovered many long stones that were believed to be the foundations in the past. People even dug up pieces of pottery, porcelain, china, Chinese tiles and many brick mounds as old pottery kilns and brick kilns.
According to conjecture, with the location of Tra Lan citadel, this place not only had a defensive role, but also arranged civil facilities. With being chosen as the center of Tra Lan prefecture, it is not difficult to imagine that this place would have arranged a number of constructions and houses used as shelters for officers and soldiers. The appearance of many brick and tile artifacts is also proof of this assertion.
Although no official excavation has been conducted, the remains scattered throughout this land show that there once existed a large-scale, solid construction here, associated with layers of historical sediments related to Tra Lan citadel.
We learned that in 2011, the Con Cuong district government at that time had compiled a relic dossier and sent it to the relevant authorities to request the Tra Lan citadel area to be ranked as a provincial relic. However, after more than a decade, this dossier has not yet been approved. The ranking has been stalled due to the lack of specific archaeological evidence and no conservation plan. Meanwhile, people continue to use the land for production, many areas have been leveled to build houses and roads without knowing that it could be the foundation of the ancient citadel.
Mr. Phan Trong Trung - Vice Chairman of Con Cuong Commune People's Committee shared: We always keep in mind that Tra Lan is not only a historical site but also a part of the spiritual roots of the former Con Cuong land. This citadel has a special role in the process of national history, especially during the Lam Son uprising. Previously, we also proposed to conduct official research and archaeology to restore what remains of the citadel. That is not only a responsibility to history, but also a way to arouse pride and educate the next generation about tradition. However, for many reasons, that has not been done.
Mr. Trung also believes that if restored, even if only with pictures, paintings, and banners erected on the old land bank, Tra Lan citadel, along with Ma Nhai stele (located on the opposite side of Lam river), and cultural sites of the Thai people, will certainly form a tourist route with both historical depth and national cultural identity.
Leaving Tra Lan and Tan Hoa area in the late afternoon, we carried with us many thoughts and worries when this citadel was no longer intact.
With the remaining traces, we think that we must not ignore or bury them deep under the layers of memory. We must start right from the small pieces of brick, from each section of trench, the remaining surrounding bamboo thorns. We must survey, measure, delimit, and preserve.
Because, reconstructing Tra Lan citadel is not only reconstructing a part of memory, but also reconstructing a part of the soul of Vietnamese history, the place where the footsteps of Lam Son insurgents were imprinted, the place where the sound of war drums and the flag of righteousness echoed like "split bamboo, flying ashes" in the mountains and forests of Nghe An.
