Cultural and spiritual highlight in the heart of the city

(Baonghean) - Dung Quyet Mountain in Vinh is considered the gem, the green lung of the city. What is special is that Quyet Mountain Park is located within the historical relic area of ​​Phuong Hoang Citadel, the place where in 1789 Emperor Quang Trung - Nguyen Hue, an outstanding son of Nghe An, chose to build the capital of Vietnam.

According to legend, at the beginning of the world, 100 phoenixes flew to this land, 99 flew to the south bank of Lam Giang river, and there formed the Hong Linh 99-peak mountain range, the remaining bird stopped on the north bank and that is the present Dung Quyet - Phuong Hoang mountain. In the process of building a great career, the hero in red flag and cloth Quang Trung - Nguyen Hue saw this as a sacred land, a place with bright weather, a thousand-year convergence point to build an imperial career. Therefore, after marching north to defeat 290,000 invading Manchu troops and the puppet henchmen of King Le - Lord Trinh at that time, Emperor Quang Trung ordered the construction of Phuong Hoang citadel to realize the dream of a strategic capital on the North - South highway. Currently, in the historical relic complex of Phuong Hoang - Trung Do, there are still traces and spiritual cultural values ​​that Emperor Quang Trung cherished to create.

Temple of Emperor Quang Trung.

In 2005, the Quang Trung Emperor Temple was invested in by the Vinh City People's Committee. The project was invested with a total value of nearly 24 billion VND. On May 7, 2008, the Quang Trung Emperor Temple was completed and put into use on the occasion of the 220th anniversary of Phuong Hoang - Trung Do, Vinh City became a class 1 urban area. According to Mr. Tran Ngoc Lu - former Director of Vinh City Cultural Center, who has been associated with the Quang Trung Temple project since its inception until now, the biggest goal when the city decided to invest in building the temple was to pay tribute to the great contributions of the national liberation hero, the outstanding politician and military leader of the country. Mr. Lu said: “225 years ago, when Emperor Quang Trung chose the sacred land of Phoenix to build a great career, and even though his career is still unfinished, his descendants and hundreds of families today still do not forget his merits. Building the temple of Emperor Quang Trung on Dung Quyet mountain is to fulfill his wish for a capital on the land where the sacred energy of mountains and rivers converge…”

With unique architectural art in the style of Nguyen Dynasty architecture, the entire temple is made of ironwood, creating an ancient and majestic appearance. The temple consists of three buildings including the upper hall, the middle hall and the lower hall. The temple roof is covered with two layers of fish-tail tiles. The walls are built of bricks, the doors and windows are curtain-style. The temple has two entrances on both sides, the four-pillar gate is designed with a two-story, eight-roof architecture... The front house can be considered the center of the temple, designed in the Vietnamese folk architecture style, including three rooms and two wings, with four rows of pillars. The temple not only worships Emperor Quang Trung but also his father and mother.

Every year, the Quang Trung Emperor Temple becomes a cultural meeting place for tourists from all over the world. Here, visitors can live in the solemn and respectful atmosphere of the religion and immerse themselves in the eco-tourism space in the picturesque landscape of one of the most historical and sacred places in Nghe An. Mr. Tran Ngoc Lu said that before 2011, the Quang Trung - Nguyen Hue Emperor Temple attracted an average of 50,000 to 70,000 visitors each year to worship and enjoy the scenery. Since 2011, the number of tourists to the temple has more than doubled. Every year on the 5th of January, at the Quang Trung Emperor Temple, a festival is held to celebrate the Ngoc Hoi - Dong Da victory - the most glorious victory of Quang Trung Emperor and the Tay Son army in the struggle to protect the country in the spring of the year of the Rooster 1789. This year is exactly 225 years after that great event and in Vinh, the City People's Committee and the Quang Trung Emperor Temple Management Board have organized many cultural activities to celebrate. In particular, this year, for the first time, the temple issued a seal card to visitors from all over the world. The seal card is meant to be the amulet of Quang Trung Emperor to bless all families with peace and prosperity; to help people have a year of favorable weather and wind, to protect everyone so that they can be peaceful and happy.

On the opening day, thousands of people gathered at the temple, but it is worth noting that there was no jostling or pushing. There were also no signs of services competing to sell or buy offerings. And one more thing, although the Quang Trung Emperor Temple is located on the top of Dung Quyet Mountain, 97m above sea level, there is still a spacious parking lot for visitors to burn incense and visit the scenery. The temple management board also arranged free incense for everyone who wanted to turn their hearts to the sacred place. There were also no beggars or panhandlers like in many other places.

It can be said that on the Central heritage road, the Phoenix - Trung Do relic complex and the Quang Trung Emperor Temple have been known as a historical - cultural - spiritual highlight that cannot be found anywhere else. And in that colorful space, the Quang Trung Emperor Temple is forever the place where the sacred energy of the mountains and rivers converges forever.

Dao Nguyen