Sam Son Beach:
Only 16Km from Thanh Hoa City,
Sam Son beach is very good for bathing. The beach became famous seaside
resort of Indochina in the early part of this century. A number of
villas were already built on the beach before the first Indochina war,
including one belonging to King Bao Dai, the last king of the Nguyen
Dynasty in Vietnam. Beside sandy beaches, Sam Son also has some scenic
spots such as Trong Mai Island, Doc Cuoc Temple, and Mount Co Tien.
The
Ho Dynasty Citadel:
It was built in 1397 under the reign of King Ho Quy Ly. It was named Tay
Do (Capital of the West), but it is popularly known as Thanh Nha Ho
(Citadel of the Ho Dynasty).
The Square,
deep moated citadel was built on a vast, flat area of land. Its walls
are built totally of green granite, about 5m high and 3m thick. Each
block of rock or 1.5m long, and 0.8m - 1m high on average. There are
four main gates in the middle of each side of the citadel there remain
relics of the foundations of old rural palaces, and two carved stone
dragons in front of a palace porch.
All the
ancient citadels in Vietnam such as the citadels of Hoa Lu and Co Loa
were made of earth, the only exception being the Ho Dynasty Citadel,
which was wholly built in block granite, depicting the power of
creativeness and industriousness of the labouring people seven centuries
ago.
Ba
Trieu Temple:
Lady Trieu whose full name was Trieu Thi Trinh was a beloved national
heroine. She led the nation in an uprising against the northern invasion
in the 3rd century.
The temple
dedicated to Lady Trieu was built on the Gai mountain in Phu Dien
commune, Hau Loc district, close to National Highway 1, some 137Km from
Hanoi. On their way from North to South and vice versa, travellers often
make a stop-over at the mountain to both pay homage to the heroine and
do some sightseeing.
Ritual
ceremonies are held yearly at the temple on the 24th day of the 2nd
lunar month. People on pilgrimage to the temple often recall Lady
Trieu's outright declaration : "I want to drive over strong wind, sail
over strong waves and chase the foreign invaders out of the country, and
I will not give up myself to be their servant-concubine".
Ham
Rong Bridge:
The Ma River is the largest one in Thanh Hoa. It runs through the
province for a length of 381km. Nearing the coast, the river meets a
high mountain which resembles a dragon's head, from which the bridge
spanning that part of the river derives its name.
In the
early 20th century French engineers tried in vain to build an iron
bridge over the Ma River. In 1905, they completed a suspension bridge
only to see it destroyed in the anti-French war.
When peace
returned in 1954, Vietnamese engineers applied new engineering
techniques and built an iron bridge. The new Ham Rong bridge some 160m
in length was completed in May 19,1964.
The bridge
gained fame because it became the main target of US air forces in the
efforts to break the North-South supply lines. Five units of the
Vietnamese armed forces including militia-persons were were stationed on
a 1 sq.km area around the bridge. They were honoured with the title of
"Hero of the Armed Forces" for shooting down a total of 106 US aircraft
in defense of the bridge.
Ben En national park
:
Ben
En National Park spans across Nhu Xuan and Nhu Thanh districts, in south
western Thanh Hoa. During the 1970s the park was often empty as very few
visitors frequented it. However, since it was made into a national park,
scientists and tourists alike have frequented the place.
Its scenery is
beautiful. The landscape is breathtaking, with its hills, mountains,
rivers and the lake. The park covers an area of 16,634 hectares. The
water surface accounts for 3,000hectares of the park. With 21 big and
small islands on its water, the lake looks similar to Ha Long Bay.
Tourists and
naturalists are interested in Ben En also because of its large
bio-diversity. One can find a great range of plants and animals. Much of
the wildlife found here has been categorized as endangered or rare.
Different ethnic groups
including the Kinh, Muong Thai and Tho live within the park. Each group
brings its unique cultural features to Ben En, making the place an ideal
destination for those interested in cultural ethnographic tourism.
The management of the
park has several projects to make it a more attractive tourist centre.
The islands are being made into ideal places for rest. Hotels are being
built. Transport is being made more convenient and comfortable. New
tourism routes are being opened. Ben En is proving its advantages over
several other tourism centers.
Dao Grotto
:
You
only need to travel about six kilometers along the north eastern route
from Nga Son's district town before you see the majestic Than Dau
Mountain ahead of you, The mountain is in Nga Thien commune. It is
famous for the Bich Dao grotto, which is located inside.
Local legend says that
this is the place where the scholar Mr. Tu Thuc met a beautiful fairy
named Giang Huong. Thuc fell completely love with Huong and decided to
follow her to her fairyland. He spent his most wonderful days in
fairyland, but deep in the back of his mind he always missed his home
village. One day he decided to go back to visit his home village.
Unfortunately, when he returned nobody recognized him. He didn't realize
that the time on earth passed much more quickly than time in fairyland.
He had been away much longer than he thought and all the people that he
knew had long since died. Tu Thuc left his village and has never been
seen again since.
A stone path leads for
some hundred meters from the foot of the mountain to the mouth of the
grotto. There you will see two poems inscribed in Chinese script on the
rocks outside the mouth. Le Quy Don wrote one of the poems. He is a
well-known Vietnamese scholar from the 18th century. However, Le Quy Don
did not inscribe the poem himself. A district chief inscribed the poem
on the rock in 1905.
Passing through the
mouth, you will enter the outer section of the grotto. It looks like a
huge upside down bowl. It houses many twinkling colorful stalagmites and
stalactites. People have given them different names such as the silver
store, the rice store, the salt store and the coin store. Some 10 meters
further, you will step on a dragon-shaped stalagmite coiling on the
ground. In the center of the coil are egg-shaped pebbles. People call
this image, "The dragon brooding golden eggs".
The stalactites drop
from the roof like leaves. If you beat them with a piece of wood, each
one will produce a different sound. They sound very much like
traditional musical instruments such as gongs, drums and bells. This
area of the grotto is called, "the orchestra."
The middle section of
the grotto is not so large, but it is long. It is almost round with a
diameter of 35 meters and height of 20 meters. The stalagmites and
stalactites here have all sorts of shapes and sizes. One looks like a
chessboard. Another looks like shoes. Standing in this area you can see
the images of flowery carpets, seals, caps and gowns. These objects make
you believe that they must have belonged to the scholar Tu Thuc from the
legend.
This section has a path
leading upward. The incline is called "the way to heaven." It has
another path leading downward which is called "the way to hell." Here
there is also a pool of clear and cool water. You can see clearly the
pebbles at the bottom. The stalactites hang like a loose curtain, from
which water can be heard dripping continuously. This scene makes you
think of the bathroom of the beautiful fairy Giang Huong.
The
inner section is smaller. It is 12 meters wide and 8 meters high.
Looking at the bottom of this section, you will see the rock form itself
into an altar. The stalagmites look like candles and ancestral tablets.
A huge rock in this section represents the grave of Tu Thuc.
Do Mountain
:
If you pride yourself on your skills of observation, then Do Mountain is
the perfect challenge for you. Even today, at the turn of the 21st
century splinter stone tools can be found scattered about the mountain's
surface. Experts say that some of these tools date back 300 to 400
thousand years. Primitive men left them behind. Some pieces are big and
others are small. The most beautiful examples of stone axes from this
vestige site are kept in the History Museum in Hanoi and the provincial
museum in Thanh Hoa. This is just one example of the exciting
discoveries that can be made on Do Mountain.
Do Mountain stretches
between Thieu Tan and Trieu Khanh villages in Dong Son district. It is
about 7 kilometers northwest of the town of Thanh Hoa. The mountain is
situated on the right side of the Chu River, at the point where it meets
the Ma River. Years ago, local people used to call the mountain, "the
two sails abreast on both the Ma and Chu Rivers." Do Mountain is 158
meters high. Its slope ranges from 20 to 25 degrees. You can easily
reach it by bicycle, motorbike, car or boat.
From a distance, Do
Mountain looks like a huge black tortoise. The highest peak outlines the
form of the tortoise's shell. The lower southern peak forms the head of
the tortoise. An ancient Vietnamese book compares the image of the
mountain to that of a tortoise playing with the water of the Chu and Ma
rivers.
At the foot of the
mountain, towards the west is a big rock. There are two human footprints
on the rock. It is said that the footprints belonged to a giant who used
to help the villagers with the construction of their houses.
Unfortunately, one of the footprints has been damaged.
The ruins of the grave
of King Le Duy Hop (1676-1705) can be found on the eastern side of the
mountain. There is also a temple dedicated to him there. Green trees
surround the site. The path leading to the grave is about 2,000 meters
long. It used to be paved with stone slabs.
Another interesting
spot on the mountain is a place called "the horse saddle." The old
people say that when they were young, they used to see a light that
would move from east to west at night from this spot. They believe that
the light came from a bright pear, worn by a horse.
At the end of the 19th
century, the Can Vuong anti-French partisans used the Do Mountain as
their resistance base. One can still see some traces of their existence
here. There is an old stone that was used for their flagpole, a well and
the kitchen.
At the foot of the Do
mountain is the Tran village. It was established in the 14th century.
The village is known for its production of mulberries and silkworms.
Many of the villagers are also good masons. People from Tran village
built the tomb of King Tu Duc in Hue. Young women from the village are
known for their excellent singing voices. Several of them became Kings'
concubines in the past.
For the visitor with a
keen eye and an acute sense of curiosity there is no place quite like Do
Mountain. It offers the visitor not only a beautiful landscape but also
the exciting discovery of an ancient culture.
Ham Rong
:
Ham
Rong is a well-known beauty spot and historical vestige site. It is
located on the National Highway No. I A, four kilometers north of the
provincial town of Thanh Hoa
In English, Ham Rong
literally means the dragon's jaws and there is a good reason why this
place was given the name. The landscape actually appears in the shape of
a dragon. The mountain range begins in Duong Xa commune, Dong Son
district and meanders along the Ma River. It ends at the Ham Rong Bridge
with an elevated peak. The range that makes up the shape has the
dragon's body and the peak next to the bridge forms the dragon's head.
There is a grotto that pierces through the mountain. It looks like the
two eyes of the dragon. Hence, its name Dragon's Eyes. The grotto has a
hole on top of it and rainwater runs through this hole. The rainwater is
dark brown and is called the dragon's tears. The grotto also has a round
hole on the left; it has a dark green texture around it; people compare
it with the dragon's eyebrows and eyelashes.
Over the centuries many
great poets have been attracted to this grotto. Nguyen Trai (1380-1442),
who has been recognized by UNESCO as a great man of culture, used to
visit this grotto. One day he was inspired to write a beautiful poem in
Chinese characters to extol the beautiful scenery. Some poems can be
found inscribed on the rock. One such poem has a flowery border. King Le
Thanh Tong may have written this poem in 1478.
Opposite the Dragon
Mountain and across the Ma River is Ngoc Mountain. It has many layers of
rock amassed on top of each other. The mountain's top shines a brilliant
red colour in the sun like a fire blazing up from inside the earth.
Towards the southwest of Dragon Mountain, the rocks bear different
shapes and have a variety of names according to their appearance. They
are the five lotuses, a woman lying down, a sleeping man, two eggs, a
crouching cat and the dragon's legs.
The vestige site of
Dong Son in Ham Rong is known throughout the world. Archaeologists have
found many artifacts of the Bronze Age here. Graves of inhabitants from
that period have also supplied a wealth of artifacts. Archaeologists
often use the name Dong Son to refer to the period of bronze tools. The
Ham Rong area also suffered a lot during the US bombing, but it managed
to maintain its strong character. Traces of the war can still be seen in
different places with the craters and broken walls. With all of these
attributes and interesting sites, Ham Rong offers the visitor a unique
chance to trace Vietnam's history from an early age.
Ho Citadel :
Ho
Citadel, also called Tay Do Wall, is situated in Vinh Loc district,
Thanh Hoa province, approximately 150 km from Hanoi. The citadel was
erected in 1397, during the Ho dynasty. The stone citadel was built in
the shape of a square with a gate on each side. The south wall gate is
similar to the South Gate of Thang Long Wall. All four walls are
surrounded by deep channels, protecting the Imperial Palace inside. Upon
completion of the wall, King Ho Quy Ly moved the capital from Thang
Long to Tay Do. The citadel was eventually destroyed and abandoned.
Nearly 6 centuries have passed
since the wall was erected, and only ruins of the South Gate remain.
