Unique village well over 350 years old.

(Baonghean.vn) - Village wells are the soul of the homeland. The people of Dong Trung village, Dong Son commune (Do Luong district) are always proud of their Thang well, which is over 350 years old.

The well was dug in the mid-17th century by Tran Vinh (1620-1668), the ancestor of the Tran Kim family, who pioneered the settlement of Dong Trung village. Legend says that Thang Well has a good water source and took three days and nights to complete.

The unique feature of Thang Well is that its walls are constructed from eight slabs of blue stone, joined together using a tongue-and-groove system instead of mortar, forming a square with each side measuring 2m and a height of approximately 0.4m (now over 0.6m).

During the Nguyen Dynasty (mid-19th century), when the well was already 200 years old, Mrs. Tu Luong, the daughter-in-law of the Nguyen Canh family, and her husband went to the North to hire stone carvers to bring the stones back and assemble them into this well.

The well was built with unbaked bricks from the bottom up in a circular shape, with square stones placed on the sides according to the concept of "round sky, square earth." Strangely, the water level in the well is always higher than the nearby rice fields; in previous years, it often overflowed the well walls and spilled out. Even during severe droughts, the Thang well has never run dry.

The well is constructed of unbaked brick from the bottom up in a circular shape, with square sides, reflecting the ancient belief that "heaven is round and earth is square." Photo: Huy Thu

The water from Thang well is always cool and sweet, making it a precious water source for the village. Photo: Huy Thu

With its cool, sweet water, perfect for brewing tea, cooking rice, and making rượu (Vietnamese rice wine), Thang Well has long been a precious water source for the village. Countless generations of villagers have grown up and thrived thanks to the water from Thang Well.

In 2015, the people of Dong Son commune, including those who had left their hometown, hometown associations, and businesses operating in the area, joined hands to raise over 216 million VND to renovate Thang Well. This large-scale renovation included paving the well with red bricks, building a stone wall, raising the well's edge, and erecting a commemorative plaque.

Despite all the changes, Thang Well still stands in a beautiful location: beside the village road, with a vegetable garden above and rice fields below, bustling with people passing by. Photo: Huy Thu

Having existed for hundreds of years, the ancient Thang well has become a vivid testament to the rich cultural and historical heritage of this rural area. The people of Dong Trung village in particular, and Dong Son commune in general, are always proud of their ancient well – a rare and beautiful feature of the past.

Huy Thu