Visiting Mother of Lotus Village
In the middle of the first and second lunar months, with the spring rain still lingering on the leaves, we arrived at the tomb of Mrs. Hoang Thi Loan - President Ho Chi Minh's mother. The tomb is located on Dong Tranh mountain at an altitude of over 100 meters above sea level in the Dai Hue range, in Nam Giang commune, Nam Dan. Here, a large campus with many clusters of constructions, from the entrance gate, the stairs, to the roof over the tomb is entering the finishing stage, expected to be completed in time for the 121st anniversary of Uncle Ho's birthday.
Mrs. Hoang Thi Loan was born in 1868 in Hoang Tru village, Kim Lien commune, Nam Dan district, and died in 1901 in Hue capital, when she was just 33 years old. At first, her body was buried at Ba Tang mountain, on Ngu Binh range, overlooking the poetic Huong river. In 1922, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh - her first daughter brought her mother's remains back to bury in the garden in Sen village.
In 1942, Mr. Nguyen Sinh Khiem, after a period of selection, chose Dong Tranh Mountain as the place to rebury her, that location has been retained until today. In 1984, to express deep gratitude to the person who gave birth and raised President Ho Chi Minh, the Party Committee and people of Nghe - Tinh province (old) and the armed forces of Military Zone 4, on behalf of the people and soldiers of the whole country, built a spacious and beautiful tomb for her.
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The main gate to the tomb of Mrs. Hoang Thi Loan is being restored. |
In July 2010, as part of the project to preserve and restore Kim Lien Relic Site to the stature of a national historical and cultural relic, the tomb of Mrs. Hoang Thi Loan was once again restored.
From the foot of Dong Tranh mountain, following the path with 269 steps made of square stones, with railings winding along the mountain ridges, interspersed with flower trellises arranged as resting places, we arrived at the cemetery of Mrs. Hoang Thi Loan.
Here, about 40 workers are actively assembling stone slabs brought from all over the country. Right above the tomb, a roof with a structure of concrete columns, two gable ends, and a roof covered with stylized fish-tail tiles in the image of a loom, a shuttle and a silk strip across has been formed.
On the semicircular terrace in front of the tomb, there is a large stele carved in black stone with the biography and achievements of Mrs. Hoang Thi Loan. On the left and right sides are the paths going up and down, made of many different stone steps, winding through the pine forest, like two strips of pink silk hanging down from a loom.
Standing on the ceremony ground right in front of the tomb, a large space seemed to be drawn into our sight from Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen, Thanh Chuong, Duc Tho, to Huong Son, where there are many famous historical and cultural relics, closely associated with the traditional history of the nation, and with the land and people of Nghe An.
Leading us to visit the tomb, Mr. Nguyen Vuong Loc, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Nghe An province, Head of the project management board for the restoration of the tomb of Mrs. Hoang Thi Loan, said: Regarding the project to restore the tomb of Mrs. Hoang Thi Loan, there have been 7 submitted options, of which 2 design options by the Consulting Company of Hanoi University of Construction were selected to get opinions from people nationwide through the mass media.
At the same time, a design simulation model was also built to collect opinions from the people in the province, and a referendum was organized for provincial leaders through the periods, inviting retired members of the Provincial Party Committee to give their opinions. After a period of giving opinions and choosing a design plan, on July 21, 2010, the project was officially started.
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The tomb remains in place, with monolithic granite and marble 6 to 9 cm thick, carved with stylized floral motifs on the outside. When all the stone slabs are put together, they create a stylized lotus shape. The area for preparing the ceremony is expanded into an arc shape that blends with the terrain and creates a wide view.
The area around the grave is expanded to create more spaciousness for the grave. This space has a roof, creating a solemn and cozy atmosphere, creating favorable conditions for everyone to perform the ceremony in the rain or shine. Around the ceremony yard, there are railings and flowers planted to ensure the green beauty of grass, trees, flowers and leaves in all four seasons.
Located at an altitude of more than 100 meters, with more than 4,000 tons of materials, not to mention stone, cement, sand, water, including stone slabs, the stone scroll weighing up to 14.7 tons was transported by human power and through a winch system set up between pine forests and steep mountain slopes. Construction materials were brought from many different places, Kim Sa stone imported from India, white stone to make the scroll brought from Yen Bai, blue-black stone in Thanh Hoa, and white stone from Quy Hop mine, with quite a large weight.
However, up to now, 80% of the volume has been completed by the construction units. The construction work is carried out by Hanoi Construction Joint Stock Company No. 1, and has completed 90% of the work. It is expected that by March 30, the site will be handed over to the stone cladding unit to start construction.
With this "rolling" construction plan, plus a large workforce (at the busiest time there are up to 60 workers, normally there are about 40 workers), the construction units strive to complete the project cluster on schedule, with the main gate, side gate, the tomb of Mrs. Ha Thi Hy (Uncle Ho's grandmother), the tomb of Mrs. Hoang Thi Loan, along with a system of roads up and down, and surrounding landscape, to serve the needs of visiting and visiting the tombs of a large number of people from near and far.
Mr. Nguyen Vuong Loc also told us: This is a tomb restoration project, associated with spiritual issues, so it is always considered important in every step, meticulous in every detail, in order to create high consensus among all classes of people. A project of national stature, showing respect for Mother Lang Sen - Mother of Vietnam, so the quality must be absolutely guaranteed, cannot race against time and do it hastily.
Even though it is located on the slope of a hill with a large slope, the construction still adheres closely to the approved design, with only a few cases requiring construction adjustments to suit the landscape, so as not to disrupt the pre-existing landscape space.
Not to mention, having to construct in an area frequently affected by natural disasters, rain, storms, especially storm No. 3 at the end of August 2010 and the historic flood in mid-October 2010, making the gathering of materials and construction work difficult!
The restoration of Uncle Ho's mother's tomb has shown respect for the Vietnamese Mother who gave birth to Uncle Ho. This place, after completion, will be linked with Kim Lien Relic Site, Mai Hac De Mausoleum, and historical relic sites in Nam Dan to form a complex that combines tourism with culture, traditional education, history...
Also from here, Nam Giang commune (where the operation center is located) has planned plans to serve visitors, in which in the summer, visitors will depart from Nam Giang - Hoang Thi Loan's tomb - Sen Village - Hoang Tru - Chung Mountain Relic Site - Phan Boi Chau and La Son Phu Tu relics - Vinh. In the winter, visitors will start from: Nam Giang - Hoang Tru - Sen Village - Chung Mountain - Hoang Thi Loan's tomb...
Dang Cuong
