Do not lose spiritual value when building Cuong temple cultural complex

Comrade Le Minh Thong - Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee chaired the conference. Also attending the conference were representatives of the Department of Culture & Sports, Department of Construction, Department of Planning and Investment, Department of Tourism.Photo: Thanh Nga

Cuong Temple is currently a national historical, cultural and architectural relic recognized by Decision No. 09/QD-VH dated February 21, 1975 of the Ministry of Culture. This temple was built during the Le Dynasty to commemorate the great contributions of Thuc Phan An Duong Vuong - the man who founded the Au Lac country, built Co Loa citadel and his general Cao Lo.

Zoning map of Cuong Temple Cultural and Spiritual Complex. Photo: Thanh Nga

The Cuong Temple Complex was built and renovated many times on a small scale, so it is not worthy of its stature. The planning of the Cuong Temple Cultural and Spiritual Complex was carried out according to the policy of Official Dispatch No. 6737/UBND - VX dated September 1, 2017 to meet the spiritual and cultural needs of the people; it is expected to be an attractive tourist destination connecting with Cua Hien - Dien Chau beach tourism.

Presenting the draft planning, the representative of Dien Chau district, the investor, determined: The zoning plan of the Cuong Temple Spiritual Cultural Complex is consistent with the orientation and development of urban space in the Southeast Economic Zone; ensuring the standards and regulations of the specific planning of the spiritual area.

Cuong Temple Festival is held on the full moon day of the second lunar month and lasts for 4 days, attracting a large number of tourists from all over the world. Photo courtesy

Opinions at the meeting stated that, during the construction process, investors need to pay attention to maintaining the current status of the boundaries and landscape architecture of Cuong Temple in accordance with the Law on Cultural Heritage. Special attention should be paid to the living space of people around the project area; community cohesion to ensure the spiritual and cultural life of the people.

Representatives of the Department of Culture and Sports also said that many cultural projects such as statues of gods and saints, and statue gardens need to be considered and researched more carefully to be suitable for the general population.

The planning of service and resort areas, as well as traffic and infrastructure planning, also needs to be carefully calculated and considered to ensure scientific nature.

Comrade Le Minh Thong concluded at the meeting. Photo: Thanh Nga

Concluding the conference, comrade Le Minh Thong requested: “The investor needs to re-study the planning based on the opinions of experts; organize a workshop before having the official planning. In particular, it is necessary to re-study the planning to avoid waste; not to lose the spiritual value of Cuong Temple. The investor needs to get opinions from the Buddhist Association's Executive Committee, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to have a scientific planning. When put into use, the project needs to meet the spiritual and cultural needs of the people, while promoting the socio-economic development of the region.”