Discover interesting things in Lam Thanh
Located on the banks of Lam River, in Hung Thanh Commune, Hung Nguyen District, Lam Thanh Mountain (also known as Thanh Ru, Dong Tru Mountain, Nghia Liet) is not only a beautiful natural landscape, but it is also a historical relic ranked as a national historical - cultural relic associated with many interesting things.
“New coordinates” on the tourist map
I arrived in Lam Thanh on an April day, when the roads stretched through the rice fields in their prime, and the wind from the Lam River blew coolly. Lam Thanh Mountain stood tall, carrying within itself a quiet, wild look.
From the top of the mountain, one can look far away to see the fertile land of Hung Nguyen, the vast fields and the poetic Lam River. Is it because of this beauty that Lam Thanh is known in many of our ancestors' poems?
According to documents of the Department of Culture - Sports and Tourism of Nghe An, in the article "Dang Lam Thanh Son Hoai Co Phu" by Deputy Bang Dang Nguyen Can (1867-1923) there is a sentence:"The south of Hung district - There is a mountain standing tall - The name is Lam Thanh..."This poem was later translated by his close friend, Dr. Nguyen Van Trinh (1872-1949), who was then the District Governor of Hung Nguyen, with the following verse:“The towering Lam Thanh mountain on the other side - The scenery is so breathtaking that I never get tired of going back and forth...”.Indeed, Lam Thanh has an irresistible attraction.
During our exploration of Lam Thanh, we met a group of Vinh University students enjoying the fresh air together after conquering the mountain peak.
“When my friend invited me to Lam Thanh, I didn’t expect much. However, as soon as I arrived, I had to exclaim: How could there be such a beautiful and ancient place! Learning about the relics made me feel even more interesting,” a young man from Do Luong shared, his eyes still not leaving the Lam Thanh Mau Palace located at the foot of the mountain.
Amidst the modern pace of life, Lam Thanh has become a favorite destination for young people who love to explore and learn about cultural and historical values.
On travel forums, Lam Thanh has gradually emerged as a “new coordinate” for light trekking trips, weekend picnics or overnight camping in the pine forest. They come here not only to breathe fresh air, watch the Lam River from a height of more than 150m, but also to slow down and “touch” the vestiges of a glorious time.Nguyen Thanh Loc - President of Vinh University Student Association
Sharing the same love, the people of Hung Thanh commune are also attached to Lam Thanh as an important part of their spiritual life. Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hoa (born in 1965), residing in Phu Hung hamlet, emotionally recounted her peaceful childhood associated with Lam Thanh mountain. When she was a child, she didn’t think much, she just loved going up the mountain, picking sim, and playing under the shade of the trees.
Growing up, when listening to her parents and grandparents tell heroic historical stories associated with Lam Thanh, about the feats of many previous generations throughout history, Ms. Hoa felt like she had a special connection with this place. Lam Thanh is not only a mountain, a beautiful natural landscape but also a living witness of a heroic historical period.
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Lam Thanh today has the presence of many young people, families coming to visit on weekends, and local history research groups... These presences have contributed to preserving and promoting the priceless values of Lam Thanh, making this relic more vibrant in the modern flow.
Listening to history
Overcoming the ups and downs of time, Lam Thanh is not only beautiful in its scenery but also rich in cultural and historical values. According to the book “Nghe An Co Tich Luc”, during the Ly - Tran dynasties, when the kings marched to the South to fight the enemy, they often stationed troops at Lam Thanh mountain. Lam Thanh mountain was chosen as a stopover to prepare food and recruit more soldiers on the way to defeat the enemy and expand the territory. This can be explained by the fact that Lam Thanh was an important location on the national highway.
During the Tran Dynasty, Yen Quoc Pagoda was built at the foot of the mountain, a large Zen monastery, along with An Quoc Pagoda in Phu Thach on the southern bank of Lam River. During the Ho Dynasty, Ho Quy Ly paid great attention to training the army to prevent the invading Ming army. From 1397 onwards, Ho Quy Ly ordered people to build Rum Citadel. From 1400, Rum Citadel became an important base of the Ho Dynasty. However, after the Ho Dynasty's resistance against the Ming army failed, Ho Quy Ly and his son were captured and brought to Kim Lang. The Ming Dynasty established a protectorate government in our country, the foreign invaders turned Nghe An into a prefecture and chose Lam Thanh as the administrative capital.
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When talking about Lam Thanh, we cannot help but mention the Lam Son uprising led by Binh Dinh King Le Loi. Implementing Nguyen Chich's plan, the insurgents advanced into the western part of Nghe An along the upper road and captured Tra Lan citadel (also known as Tra Long, now in Bong Khe commune - Con Cuong). Then the insurgents followed the Lam River down to capture Nghe An citadel, using it as a springboard to advance and capture other citadels. Binh Dinh King Le Loi advocated for his soldiers to surround Nghe An citadel, block enemy reinforcements, and force them to surrender due to hunger and cold. In February 1427, when they were exhausted, surrounded from all directions, unable to ask for reinforcements and frightened by the strength of Lam Son's insurgents, the enemy general opened the citadel gate and led 10,000 soldiers to surrender.
After capturing Lam Thanh, Nghe An was liberated. Lam Son insurgents divided into attack groups, spreading out to all regions to regain the entire Dai Viet territory.
“Lam Thanh Mountain stands there, witnessing many ups and downs in history. In particular, for nearly 400 years Lam Thanh has been the capital of Nghe An, many important events of the country have taken place here, many elite people of the nation have been present here, many historical and cultural relics of the homeland have existed and are still existing here...”.
Work "Lam Thanh - Historical Mountain", author Thai Kim Dinh
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With its great cultural and historical values, Lam Thanh Mountain Relic was recognized by the Ministry of Culture as a National Historical and Cultural Relic in 1962 (Decision No. 313/VH-VP dated April 28, 1962). In July 2024, the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen district held a meeting to clarify a number of issues related to the zoning, protection and promotion of the value of Lam Thanh Mountain National Historical Relic.
In order to continue to protect and promote the value of the relic, it is necessary to maintain the current status of protection area 1 and protection area 2. In which, protection area 1 is the area containing the original elements constituting the relic and must be protected in its original state in terms of ground and space; protection area 2 is the area surrounding or adjacent to protection area 1. At the same time, survey the road to the relic, install signs, and complete it soon to ensure the management of the relic in the area. Lam Thanh Mountain has also been included in the tourism development project for the period 2022-2025 to preserve and promote cultural and historical images.
However, the relic has not been restored or rehabilitated as expected. Many items of the relic have been degraded or abandoned, causing regret. It is time to pay more attention to the conservation and restoration of items of Lam Thanh Mountain Historical and Cultural Relic to awaken the potential and strengths of a scenic spot with many cultural, historical and tourist meanings of the homeland.
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