The royal fish species was thought to be extinct.

This Tham valley is not the largest, and it connects to other valleys and streams. However, strangely, the Tong Truong perch and the king's snakehead fish are not found anywhere else but in Tham valley. This species of fish lives here and dies here.

For a long time, during business trips to Ninh Binh, when discussing food, we often talked about Tong Truong perch or snakehead fish, two species of fish offered to the king, recorded in history books from the Dinh and Tien Le dynasties.

However, for many years now, not many people have had the chance to enjoy this fish. Simply because in the minds of Ninh Binh people, these two royal fish species have become extinct. However, everyone in Ninh Binh knows the old folk song: "The cranes' wings flutter in the wind/ Seeing off the Ly King's boat leaving the capital/ When leaving, I miss the boy and the girl/ When returning, I miss the Tong Truong perch".



Tong Truong perch is a dish offered to the king. Photo from the internet

In recent years, some businesses have invested in building barns, digging lakes, and building dams to raise this fish. However, the output is not high and the quality is not up to standard. This specialty seems to only exist in fairy tales.

However, one day, when we visited Tran Temple, a small temple hidden in a deep valley cliff in the Trang An Monuments and Landscape Complex, and met the man living in "Tuyet Tinh Coc", we learned that in that valley, there were still many species of fish offered to the king.

That man is Duong Dinh Thanh. Mr. Thanh is originally from Dong hamlet (Truong Yen, Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh). In the 70s of the last century, every day, he and the older young men including Mr. Bai, Son, Khuc, Hoa, rowed a boat into Tham valley to fish, catch eels, and catch fish. This is the farthest valley of Trang An flooded area.

After decades of diving and catching crabs and snails in Tham valley, he decided to live here in seclusion for the rest of his life, burning incense and taking care of Tran temple.

According to Mr. Thanh, in the past, Tham valley was extremely rich in fish. Black carp weighed several dozen kilograms, sluggish like bombs underwater. Eels in Tham valley were also incredibly large. There was an eel he once caught, as big as a wrist, weighing more than 1 kilogram. After catching these black eels, bringing them back to the village, no one dared to eat them, because they looked… too big!



Along with Tong Truong perch, Truong Yen snakehead fish is also a dish offered to the king.
Internet photo

Mr. Son even had his finger bitten off by a ferocious giant eel. People had to cut off the eel’s head and split its skull to remove his bloody finger.

Even now, in Tham valley, there are still eels as big as wrists. In spring, the breeding season, they still raise their heads above the water, with their bodies dangling in the clear water. Once, Mr. Thanh brought chickens and ducks into Tham valley to release, the giant eels bit their legs and dragged them all away.

But the most notable products in Tham valley are Tong Truong perch and King's snakehead fish. According to Mr. Thanh, since 1970, he has been catching and netting these fish and eating them as normal food.



A clumsy corner of Tham.

It was only when, about ten years ago, a group of scientists, while surveying caves and geology in Tham valley, stayed in his grass hut, and were treated to two dishes that he called homegrown, namely perch and snakehead fish for the king, which shocked the scientists, that he learned that this species of fish had become… extinct! Only then did he realize that the two species of fish he had been eating for decades were precious fish, formerly only for the king.

Immediately, Mr. Thanh was assigned by scientists and the Trang An tourist area to look after Tham valley, prohibiting all fishing and encroachment on Tham valley, in order to protect this wild fish species. Mr. Thanh said: “Now that I notice, I see that these two fish species are strange, uncle. This Tham valley is not the biggest, and it connects to other valleys and streams, but the strange thing is that Tong Truong perch and king-offering snakehead fish are not found anywhere else outside Tham valley. This fish species lives here and dies here.”



According to Mr. Thanh, in Tham lagoon there are still many Tong Truong perch and king's snakehead fish.

Having said that, Mr. Thanh led me to Tran Temple. It was a small temple, built of stone, located at the foot of a high stone roof. The temple worshiped Thanh Minh Dai Vuong, whose real name was Nguyen Hien, the twin brother of Nguyen Sung and the uncle of Son Tinh.

The temple was built during the Dinh Dynasty and was called Hiem Temple (Southern Town). However, during the Tran Dynasty, King Tran Canh passed by and changed the name of Tu Tran Temple to Tran Temple, and that name remains to this day.

After burning incense and praying, Mr. Thanh ran his hand along the four green stone pillars carved with beautiful dragons and phoenixes and showed me the shapes of the fish. I looked closely and saw that they were indeed very vivid pictures of perch, about the same size as real fish.

The image of a perch on the stone pillar of a temple from the Dinh Dynasty in Vung Tham.

According to the carving, the dragon is sucking water and the perch wants to become a dragon so it tries to jump up with the water. One pillar symbolizes love of life, one pillar prays for favorable weather, one pillar is for national peace, the remaining pillar symbolizes people's peace. All four stone pillars with four symbols have the image of the General Perch.

In addition to talking about the massacre 1,000 years ago, the temple legend also mentions perch and snakehead fish, two dishes used as offerings to the king.

Mr. Thanh stood at the edge of the temple, pointing across Tham Valley. He said that, according to the legend written on the stone stele, in this valley, a terrible massacre took place in history.



Currently, only Vong Tham has seen two species of fish thought to be extinct in the wild.

General Pham Bach Ho, a loyalist of the Dinh Dynasty, brought 1,000 soldiers into this valley to resist the Tien Le Dynasty. He used Tham Valley as a base to train his troops and restore his army. However, after a long siege, he and 1,000 soldiers died. Blood flowed all over the valley, so from then on, this waterhole was called Tham Valley.

Mr. Duong Dinh Thanh parted the grass and led me along the edge of Tham valley. Along the shore, the water was only about a hand's breadth deep, but occasionally I saw fish thrashing about and then darting out in a jet of water. Mr. Thanh said those were snakehead fish.

When it is quiet, the snakehead fish crawl to the shore, nesting in the crevices of rocks. During the spawning season, they also nest, give birth and raise their young like the snakehead fish. Mr. Thanh only needs to use a fishing rod, lure them in the crevices of rocks, and he will catch the snakehead fish. In this Tham lagoon, there is no shortage of snakehead fish, weighing up to 1kg.



Tran Temple in Tham lagoon, where the legend of snakehead fish and perch is kept.

The General Perch is harder to find. You have to cast nets in caves or use bait to catch them.

The reason it is called Tong Truong perch is because this fish species can only be found in Tong Truong Yen area, Hoa Lu district (including Trang An flooded area, where Tham lagoon is located). They live in swamps and flooded caves.

According to Mr. Thanh, the Tong Truong perch is much bigger than the wild perch. Mr. Thanh often catches perch as big as a hand, weighing nearly half a kilo. Because this fish lives in dark caves, it has many mutations, different from the normal perch. The meat of the Tong Truong perch is fatty, fragrant, chewy, and sweet to the teeth. The meat of the snakehead fish also has a unique flavor, which no other fish can compare to.

According to Mr. Thanh, the reason why Vung Tham still has two species of fish to offer to the king is because Vung Tham is located deep in the mountain, with only one way in. Mr. Thanh is the one who blocks the entrance to that road and guards and preserves this species of fish. In addition, Vung Tham has many deep caves in the mountain, so it is not easy for fish hunters to catch all of them.

The conservation of two royal fish species in Tham lagoon, thought to be extinct in the wild, probably needs the attention and research of scientists, especially aquatic experts.

According to VTC News - NT