According to documents, Lang Danh Temple in Lang Thanh Commune (Yen Thanh) was built in 1816 and has undergone many renovations and embellishments. The temple worships Princess Bach Y and the national gods. Legend has it that this is one of the most sacred temples in the rice fields, and is frequently visited by people from inside and outside the region to worship and pray for peace. The temple consists of a ceremonial gate, a lower hall, and an upper hall. The scale is not large, but it has high artistic and aesthetic value. The themes of animals carved on the rafters and the communal house gate demonstrate the uniqueness and top talent of the artisans of that period. In 2017, the temple was recognized as a provincial cultural relic.
However, over time and the harshness of natural disasters, Lang Danh Temple is now seriously degraded, of which the upper hall is the most severely damaged. In particular, the flood in October 2022 has made the already degraded temple even weaker after months of being submerged in floodwater, at risk of collapsing at any time. "The tiled roof has risen and fallen, the rafters have been eaten by termites, looking inside you can see large holes, just a strong wind can blow the tiled roof off. Local authorities and departments have come down many times to review and survey the investment in anti-degradation items for the temple, but so far there has been no movement," said Mr. Tran Van Lieu - the person in charge of Lang Danh Temple.
Mr. Pham Xuan Tuyet - Head of the Department of Culture and Information of Yen Thanh district said: "In Yen Thanh district, there are currently 250 relics, of which 92 are ranked at national and provincial levels, but many of them are seriously degraded due to the ravages of time and natural disasters such as Lang Danh Temple, Mo Communal House (Hau Thanh Commune), Phung Luat Communal House (Hop Thanh Commune)... However, it is very difficult to get funding for each communal house and temple because every year the district is only allocated funding for this item from a few hundred million to 1 billion VND, like a drop in the ocean".
In Hung Nguyen district, Ram Temple in Chau Nhan commune is also in a state of severe degradation. This is an ancient temple from the Nguyen Dynasty, started construction in 1831, completed in 1832; most recently repaired in 1922. This is a place to worship historical figures who have contributed to the country and people such as King Le Thai To, Mr. Nguyen Quang Hop, or angels such as Cao Son Cao Cac... In the early 20th century, patriotic scholars, outstanding young people before going abroad to do revolutionary activities such as Pham Hong Thai, Le Hong Phong used to secretly meet at the temple. During the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement and the August Revolution, Ram Temple was a place to gather forces to listen to speeches about the revolution and fight to seize power. During the years of the resistance war against America, Ram Temple was a place to store weapons and transport weapons from the North to the South by waterway on the Lam River... In 2008, Ram Temple was recognized as a national historical, architectural and artistic relic.
Ram Temple includes the inner Ram Temple and the outer Ram Temple with many horizontal and vertical houses. The relic site has a total area of 10,401m2.2. However, because it is located outside the dike, every year since ancient times, the temple has been submerged in flood water. Over time, some areas of the temple have been severely damaged, such as the gatehouse of the Ram Ngoai temple, where the wooden structure has rotted and the tiles have broken, causing leaks when it rains. The lower hall of the Ram Ngoai temple has been damaged in many places, especially the right side of the temple, where both the wood and the bank have been broken. Ms. Hoang Thi Hoai Thanh - Head of the Department of Culture and Information of Hung Nguyen district said: "Over the years, witnessing the degradation of the Ram Temple, we cannot help but feel sorry. The Department of Culture and Information as well as the local government have repeatedly called on children far from home and benefactors to raise funds to repair the temple. Because in reality, repairing the damaged parts is very expensive, with the allocated budget of only about 250 million VND, it is not possible to do it."
Or like Trung Can - Trung Phuc Cuong Communal House (Nam Dan) was built in the mid-18th century to serve as a place for community activities and to worship the tutelary god Nghia Quan Cong Tong Tat Thang. The communal house is considered by experts to have unique architectural art in Nghe An. The communal house was ranked as a national historical and architectural art relic in 1996. However, this communal house is currently in serious disrepair. Mr. Ho Thanh Binh - the caretaker of Trung Can Communal House said that up to now, the tiled roof has leaked in many places, causing rainwater to seep into the rafters, beams, columns and carved wooden frames inside the communal house. The wooden roof behind the lower hall is damaged, causing the tiled roof to buckle.
Ms. Tran Thi Kim Phuong - Head of the Provincial Monuments Management Board said: “Nghe An has a large area, many monuments but they are unevenly distributed in different regions, causing difficulties in protection, management and promotion. The monuments' structures are mainly made of wood, have been formed and existed for a long time, and are constantly affected by natural disasters (heat, humidity, storms, floods), wars and humans, so they are damaged and degraded. Many monuments are granted funding to restore some items, but when dismantling for repair and replacement, there is a need to replace related architectural components. Due to limited funding, this leads to a situation of "temporary" and small-scale repairs, waiting for financial support to continue the repairs. This unsynchronized restoration method leads to the situation where the monuments are still in a state of degradation despite being granted funding many times.”
For example, Sung Communal House in Lang Thanh Commune (Yen Thanh) is 500 years old and was recognized as a national monument in 2004. This is one of the ancient architectural structures with the largest scale of decorative art, sculpture and carving in Nghe An and is currently being preserved by the people. Because the upper temple is severely damaged, in recent years the district has prioritized investment in repairing and rebuilding on the old architectural foundation. However, in contrast to the newness of the upper temple, the middle and lower temples are severely degraded with wooden pillars as big as an arm's embrace rotted by termites and flood water. Mr. Nguyen Ba Nhan - the caretaker of Sung Communal House said: "Up to now, every time there is a meeting or a festival, the government still organizes activities for people at the temple, such as organizing folk games, or the spring calligraphy festival, which is very meaningful. However, with this obvious degradation, the communal house grounds have become shabby, due to the contrast between old and new. A comprehensive restoration is needed to restore the beauty of this famous communal house."
Or like Vo Liet communal house in Vo Liet commune (Thanh Chuong), a cultural relic with quite unique architecture, one of the places where the first Soviet government was established in Nghe Tinh, 15 years ago, the Provincial People's Committee allowed restoration in Decision 1940/QD.UBND-CN dated May 26, 2008 on: "Approving the investment project to build a project to restore, embellish and build a new historical and cultural relic of Vo Liet communal house, Thanh Chuong district", with a capital of 9.5 billion VND. However, many items quickly deteriorated. Recently, the communal house was granted an additional 80 million VND to prevent leaks and patch up some damaged details. Currently, the commune is also planning to request permission to repair some items of the communal house.
