The beauty of early spring culture at Emperor Quang Trung Temple

(Baonghean) - Every year on the 5th day of the first lunar month, Vinh city residents and visitors from near and far eagerly flock to King Quang Trung Temple on Dung Quyet Mountain to attend the Ngoc Hoi - Dong Da Victory Ceremony.

Sacred Temple of King Quang Trung

In response to the people's wishes, to express gratitude to the national hero, the People's Committee of Nghe An province issued a decision on July 23, 2004 to build the Temple of King Quang Trung in Block 2, Trung Do Ward, Vinh City.

Quang Trung Temple on holiday. Photo: Sy Minh

The temple is located on Dung Quyet peak, a sacred land chosen by King Quang Trung as the capital more than 220 years ago. The project was inaugurated on May 7, 2008. The temple is large in scale, has a large campus, beautiful architecture; has a lower hall, middle hall, upper hall, left and right wings, a three-door gate, sacrificial objects... restored according to the culture of the Nguyen Dynasty. This is a spiritual and cultural project associated with tourism, meeting the needs of domestic and foreign tourists to admire, commemorate the merits of Emperor Quang Trung and enjoy the landscape of a cultural region with beautiful mountains and rivers, a sacred land with outstanding people rich in epics, imbued with the identity of Nghe An.

Standing on the grounds of King Quang Trung Temple, we can see the whole view of Vinh city, Hong river, Lam river, Cua Lo beach, Ngu island, Mat island, Tien Dien village, the hometown of the great poet Nguyen Du, the hometown of President Ho Chi Minh.

Quang Trung Temple Festival 2016. Photo by Thanh Thuy

The entire temple is made of ironwood. The walkways, sidewalks, and temple yard are paved with Thanh Hoa stone, creating a majestic, modern yet no less ancient look. The truss system of the temple is in the style of a gong-shaped frame, carved with motifs in the style of the Nguyen Dynasty. The roof is covered with fish-tail tiles, consisting of two layers: mat tiles, reed tiles, the floor is paved with ancient Bat Trang tiles restored from Ha Tay. The walls are built with Bat bricks, the doors and windows are in the style of upper-side and lower-side curtains...

The temple has two entrances on both sides, in the middle is the outer gate (four-pillar gate) designed with 2 floors and 8 roofs according to the Book of Changes.

Next is the four-pillar screen erected right on the main axis, made of elaborately and beautifully carved stone. On both sides of the screen are engraved brocade seals, in the middle is a scroll, in the center are two characters for Tho De. Above is a dragon facing the moon. At the bottom are kneeling legs with a fish's stomach, carved with a tiger symbol. On both sides are two standing lions, symbolizing the role of guardians controlling the souls of those entering and leaving.

Emperor Quang Trung's death anniversary, at Quang Trung Temple, Vinh City. Photo: Le Manh Thang

Through the four-pillar screen are two stele houses facing each other parallel to the main axis. The stele house on the left is engraved with the inscription "King Quang Trung's Merits", the stele house on the right is engraved with the inscription "President Ho Chi Minh wrote about Quang Trung". Next are the left and right houses. Through this area is the large worshiping house, also known as the front house, where the ceremony is prepared and arranged before the ceremony. The front house can be considered the center of the temple, designed in the Vietnamese folk architectural style, consisting of three rooms and two wings, with four rows of columns. The back house and the ceremonial gate are all two-storey, eight-roofed buildings, with the peaks and corners of the roofs carved with curved dragon and phoenix shapes, creating a majestic appearance. According to feng shui, this arrangement is to prevent evil spirits...

Tourists return to Quang Trung Temple Festival. Photo by Thanh Thuy

The construction of the Quang Trung King Temple began in 3 years, with a total investment of more than 22 billion VND, undertaken by the Cultural Construction Joint Stock Company under the Ministry of Culture and Information (formerly). This is one of 36 construction items of the historical relic complex of Dung Quyet Mountain Park.

Nghe An has many beautiful mountains and rivers, many famous scenic spots that are known to many people. Not only that, but now when coming to Nghe An, tourists cannot help but visit the Quang Trung King Temple, a spiritual and cultural work with many majestic and mysterious features. Since the inauguration of the Quang Trung King Temple, thousands of domestic and foreign tourists have come to visit.

Book stalls at Quang Trung Temple Festival attract many tourists. Photo by Thanh Thuy

The highest leaders of the Party and Government such as former President Nguyen Minh Triet, former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, etc. have visited the Temple of King Quang Trung. Especially every time Tet comes, thousands of people from all over the country flock here to worship and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the land and sky.

Issuing the "Quang Trung Linh Tu" seal card

Visiting the shrine of the cloth hero, especially in early spring, visitors will be pleased to see no street vendors, chaos, jostling, and pushing like other places. The form of self-service stalls - visitors buy goods themselves and put money in the box, has left a good impression in the hearts of those who have visited here.

Especially on the 5th day of the Lunar New Year every year, people and tourists from all over the world flock to Vinh city to attend the most important festival of the year at the Quang Trung Emperor Temple - the Ngoc Hoi - Dong Da Victory Celebration, one of the most glorious feats of the cloth hero Quang Trung Nguyen Hue. Also on this day, Vinh city and the temple management board organize the issuance of "Quang Trung Linh Tu" seal cards for people and tourists from all over the world. Tourists who gather here, in addition to performing spiritual ceremonies and sightseeing in early spring, all hope to have a "seal card" to bring home to receive blessings and protection in the new year.

Bronze drum performance at Quang Trung Temple Festival. Photo: Thanh Thuy

This year, Vinh city will issue 15 thousand seal cards. According to the process, the seal cards are printed, stamped and brought to the main palace. On the 5th day of Tet, the city leaders and the management board will offer incense and report to the Emperor at the main palace. After that, the boxes of seal cards will be brought to the seal card worship room to distribute to all the people.

Issuing the New Year's seal cards at the Quang Trung Emperor Temple has become a unique cultural and spiritual beauty in the first days of Spring. This is a new feature that creates a unique mark to attract a large number of tourists from all over the world, contributing to promoting spiritual cultural and tourism activities in Vinh city in particular and Nghe An province in general. At the same time, it shows respect and gratitude to the ancestors, remembering the great contributions of the cloth-clothed hero Quang Trung Nguyen Hue./.

Thanh Thuy - Tran Dan Thuy