Hai Duong has many historical relics of Confucianism associated with famous cultural and scholarly figures. This is a great potential for developing scholarly tourism.

Strengths

Hai Duong has a dense density of relics with 3,199 historical, cultural and scenic relics. Among them, Hai Duong has a series of relics associated with the history of mandarinate and education of the Eastern region in particular and Vietnam in general, which is rare to find anywhere else. The above relics all have unique historical, cultural and architectural values ​​to develop the unique tourism product "Vietnamese Mandarinate Road". This product is built on the foundation of connecting the doctoral village of Mo Trach (Binh Giang) with Mao Dien Temple of Literature (Cam Giang), the temple of the two-nation champion Mac Dinh Chi (Nam Sach), the temple of teacher Chu Van An and the temple of female doctor Nguyen Thi Due (Chi Linh).

Going back in time, the history of feudal examinations in Vietnam was counted from 1075 when the Ly Dynasty opened the "Minh Kinh Bac Hoc" examination and closed it in 1919. Over nearly 9 centuries, the whole country held 185 examinations, selecting 2,898 Confucian doctors. Hai Duong town alone had 637 doctors and 12 top laureates. If the administrative boundary is considered a province, Hai Duong has 486 doctors.

Nam Sach district has the most doctors in the country with 125 doctors. In particular, Hai Duong also has a famous place known as "The Doctorate's Furnace of the East" - Mo Trach village, Tan Hong commune (Binh Giang). The village has up to 36 doctors, the most in the country in the history of feudal examinations in Vietnam. Of the 82 remaining steles at the Temple of Literature, there are 18 steles engraved with the names of 25 doctors in Mo Trach village. Hai Duong has the most doctors in the country at all three levels: province, district, and village.

Mr. Vu Quoc Ai, Permanent Member of the Management Board of Mo Trach Communal House and Temple, said: In the history of the imperial examinations, King Tu Duc bestowed the golden words on Mo Trach: "Mo Trach Nhat Gia Ban Thien Ha", meaning Mo Trach's talent is equal to half the world. Mo Trach is also the ancestor of the Vu (Vo) family in Vietnam, the homeland of the outstanding Vu (Vo) children. Every February, the villagers organize the traditional festival of Mo Trach village. This is not only a festival for the villagers but also an opportunity for the descendants of the Vu (Vo) family from all over to return to their ancestral homeland to review and spread the tradition of studiousness of this land.

"Throughout feudal dynasties until now, Mo Trach has always produced talented people who have made positive contributions to the country," said Mr. Ai.

From Mo Trach, about 15 km up National Highway 5 is the special national relic Mao Dien Temple of Literature (Cam Giang), 16 km from the center of Hai Duong City. Second only to the Temple of Literature (Hanoi), with nearly 600 years of existence, Mao Dien Temple of Literature has become a source of pride for the tradition of studiousness of the land and people of the East.

Mao Dien Temple of Literature is one of the few provincial temples still existing in Vietnam with structures such as the worshiping hall, the harem, the eastern and western palaces, the inkstone platform, the pen tower, the drum tower, the bell tower, etc. In addition to worshiping Confucius, the Temple of Literature also worships eight great Vietnamese scholars: Vice-Chancellor of the National University Chu Van An, the two-country top scholar Mac Dinh Chi, the national hero, the world cultural celebrity Nguyen Trai, the Trinh Quoc Cong Nguyen Binh Khiem, the great physician, the Imperial Student Tue Tinh, the Vietnamese God of Mathematics Vu Huu, the Royal Inspector Pham Su Menh and the female doctor Nguyen Thi Due.

Ms. Le Thi Thoa, Deputy Head of the Cam Giang District Relic Management Board, said: Today, Mao Dien Temple of Literature is a place to encourage learning, encourage talents, and educate students about the spirit of "respecting teachers" and studiousness of the people of the East. This place often attracts thousands of students and teachers to return to their roots.

Leaving Cam Giang, tourists follow Highway 5 to visit the temple of Mac Dinh Chi in Nam Tan Commune (Nam Sach). Mac Dinh Chi, whose pen name was Tiet Phu (1272-1346), was from Long Dong Village, Nam Tan Commune (Nam Sach). At the age of 32, he passed the Royal Examination in the year of Giap Thin (1304). With his diplomatic, rhetorical, and poetic talents worthy of being "the top scholar", he was awarded the title of Royal Scholar of Two Countries by the Nguyen King.

The temple consists of 5 front rooms, 3 middle rooms, and 3 back rooms. In addition, there are guest houses, grounds, and peaceful village landscapes... This is not only a project of historical and spiritual cultural significance but also a place to educate the young generation about the tradition of studiousness.

Continuing along Highway 37, visitors will arrive at Chi Linh City. This is an important cultural and spiritual area of ​​the country, with a dense system of relics, associated with many famous people of the country who were born, gathered and shone in this land. Every year, this place attracts tourists from all over the world to visit and explore.

Associated with Confucianism, we cannot fail to mention Chu Van An Temple. This is the place to worship the teacher with an exemplary model of shining virtue.

Chu Van An, whose given name was Linh Triet, and whose pen name was Tieu An, was from Van village, Quang Liet commune, Thanh Dam district (now Thanh Liet commune, Thanh Tri district, Hanoi). He passed the Thai Hoc Sinh exam but did not become an official but opened a school to teach. He was invited by King Tran to be the Vice-Rector of the Imperial Academy, teaching the Crown Princes and assisting the king. During the reign of Tran Du Tong, the court was in turmoil, Chu Van An submitted a "seven-execution memorial" but failed. He retired to Phuong Hoang Chi Linh mountain to live in seclusion, teaching, writing books, and finding medicine to cure people's illnesses until his death.

Currently, the Phoenix relic site consists of three main areas: the temple, the tomb of Chu Van An and the Luu Quang temple, where Chu Van An used to teach. Chu Van An's name has gone down in national history as a typical Confucian scholar of Vietnam, a shining example of human morality.

Mr. Phan Van Duc, Deputy Head of the Management Board of Chi Linh City Monuments, said that with its poetic and majestic natural scenery and the sacred atmosphere of mountains and rivers, Chu Van An Temple is not only a place to educate the tradition of “respecting teachers” but also becomes an attractive tourist destination for tourists from all over the country. Every year, this place attracts tens of thousands of students and teachers to visit, worship, and pray for peace and success.

2 km away is the temple of female doctor Nguyen Thi Due. She also has another name, Nguyen Ngoc Toan, the pen name is Dieu Huyen, the king's given name is Tinh Phi (meaning Sao Sa). She was born at the end of the 16th century, in Kiet Dac commune, Chi Linh district (now Van An ward, Chi Linh city). At the age of 80, she asked to return to her hometown to live a simple life and died here.

Going back to the past, at the end of the 16th century, Ms. Nguyen Thi Due overcame feudal ideology, pretended to be a man to take the exam and passed the exam with the highest score, becoming the first female doctor of Vietnam.

Today, the temple and tomb of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Due is a very famous architectural work, one of the eight relics of "Chi Linh Bat Co", which has been restored and well protected, meeting the people's wishes for gratitude and worship.

Special tourism products

The project "Developing high-quality tourism in Hai Duong province in the period of 2021-2030, vision to 2050" has identified the tourism product "Vietnamese Imperial Examination Road" including the above 5 relics as a special tourism product to orient development.

In recent years, these relics have received attention for investment in infrastructure as well as fairly synchronous landscape. Many relics have initially had attractive experiential activities for tourists. In Mo Trach, there are pre-exam consultations, welcoming groups of students and teachers to study extracurricular activities in the summer. At Mao Dien Temple of Literature, there is also a model of an old tent; organizing the Golden Bell contest, picking democratic flowers to learn about relics and famous people. At Chu Van An Temple, there is also a model of an old tent, practicing the exam hall; organizing a ceremony to report achievements to groups, asking for calligraphy, asking for rejection...

However, this unique tourism product has not been effectively exploited to develop commensurate with its inherent potential. Tourism exploitation at relics has not been connected between localities and relic management boards as well as travel businesses. Tourism promotion and advertising is still limited, activities and products... are still monotonous, only stopping at pure sightseeing and incense offering activities.

If you only come to burn incense and listen to explanations about the relics, it will not leave much of an impression on visitors, making it difficult to create an attractive tourism product. When the points are not connected, and there are no supporting services to make up the product, it is impossible to create a closed tourism product.

For example, Mao Dien Temple of Literature or Chu Van An Temple need to create a model of a tent, an old examination hall with full facilities. Arranging an area with tables and chairs with brushes, inkstones or the clothes of scholars and doctors for visitors to write, dress up, then record and take pictures will be very attractive and leave an impression on visitors.

Ms. Le Thi Thoa, Deputy Head of the Cam Giang District Relic Management Board, said that local education in schools is an advantage to exploit this tourism product. The education sector and schools should coordinate and support to popularize the tourism product "The Road to Vietnamese Examinations" widely to teachers, students and parents. First of all, there needs to be a solution to attract student tourists through extracurricular programs.

Sharing the same view, Mr. Phan Van Duc said that Hai Duong has not yet promoted the value of Confucian relics well. All levels and sectors need to participate more strongly, the role of the culture, sports and tourism sector, and the education sector is very important to connect and bring heritage education into schools. The culture, sports and tourism sector must be a bridge connecting travel businesses and tourist destinations to form a system. The State is interested in investing in infrastructure, especially experiential activities to attract tourists.

Mr. Vu Dinh Tien, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said: "Talking about the Vietnamese imperial examination path means we are identifying a typical, unique tourism product that is difficult to find in other provinces and cities. This is a great potential for developing unique tourism products to create a destination brand."

However, to gradually realize this product, there must be a synchronous solution. First of all, all levels, sectors and the entire political system must participate and provide consistent direction; promote propaganda, advertising and promotion of tourism products that have been oriented to be built. Strengthen connections with travel businesses, thereby creating a close-knit system between the State and businesses to build suitable products, tours and routes. Localities with this tourism product need to be active and proactive in planning; direct relevant agencies, in which the core is the Monument Management Board, to build product packages to attract tourists. Actively innovate and research product types to suit each customer group.

It is known that in the coming time, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism will continue to coordinate with localities, tourism associations and travel businesses to build tours, routes and tourism programs suitable for each target group and unit. In which, it focuses on creating connections between localities and travel businesses, thereby attracting visitors to promote the value of relics as well as bring revenue to the locality.

Content: THE ANH - THANH CHUNG

Graphics: TUAN ANH