Unique stone-studded village well in the rice countryside
(Baonghean.vn) - When mentioning Vu Ky cliff in Yen Thanh district, people often think of Hang pagoda, but few people know that in the nearby village of the same name there is also a unique stone well and lim garden.
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| This unique stone well is located in the middle of Vu Ky village, Dong Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) and was built by local people in 1938. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| According to the elders in the village, the well was made of stones brought from Vu Ky cliff. Depending on the purpose of use (for building or paving), the stones were cut to different sizes. At that time, Vu Ky village had 2 hamlets (inner and outer hamlets), each hamlet was responsible for building half of the well. Inside the well, from the bottom to the ground level, were countless mountain stones. In the past, Vu Ky stone well was a source of cool, clear water that provided water for the whole village. Nowadays, people around the area all use drilled wells, so the village well has become a relic. Photo: Huy Thu |
Vu Ky stone well is made up of 21 stones, each 0.7m high, more than 0.2m wide, 0.4 - 0.6m long. The outside of the stones is grooved above and below and fitted together to form the mouth of the well. Over time, some of the joints have separated enough to fit a finger. Photo: Huy Thu
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| The well has two doors opening in two directions. Each door is bordered by two stones shaped like upside-down bells, skillfully carved with grooves. In the past, when the village well was still in use, villagers went to draw water, each hamlet followed that door. Photo: Huy Thu |
On the inside of the well wall, on the east side, there are two lines of Chinese characters engraved with the year the well was built. Outside the well wall, there are three decorative frames, the middle one has a rather large number 1938 engraved on it. Next to the well, on the two walls separating it from the garden of the local people, there are the years of the well's renovation (1961, 2005). Photo: Huy Thu
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About 300m west of Vu Ky stone well is a 176-year-old lim tree garden, planted by Mr. Luong Dich, a local resident, in 1844. In this lim tree garden, during the years of the resistance war against the US, our army built a "missile command bunker" along with an air defense position and a system of surrounding trenches. At that time, experts from the Soviet Union, China... came here to work. There are still traces of a missile command bunker right in front of the temple yard. Photo: Huy Thu
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| In the middle of the ancient lim tree garden is Duc Ong Temple, built by local people long ago to worship the local tutelary god. After many years, only traces remain, the temple has been restored. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| The ancient lim garden has many large and small lim trees, of which the largest tree has a trunk circumference of 2.6m. According to Mr. Phan Dang (60 years old), the keeper of Duc Ong temple, this lim garden is preserved and protected by the people, considered a treasure of the village. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| Standing in the lim garden, one can see a large area of rice fields and surrounding villages, especially Vu Ky cliff where the ancient Hang pagoda is located. For generations, the stone well, the ancient lim garden, and Duc Ong temple have become important relics of the people of Vu Ky village. Photo: Huy Thu |
