Discover the Fairy Chessboard on the sacred mountain top

Even though it was drizzling spring rain, the road to Ban Co Tien was constantly filled with tourists going up and down.

Coming to Con Son (Chi Linh, Hai Duong) in early spring, tourists from everywhere can not only immerse themselves in the sacred atmosphere of the festival imbued with culture and history, but also blend into the vast green space of Con Son mountains and forests.

Among them, Ban Co Tien is a destination that many tourists cannot miss on their pilgrimage.

In many places, the fog is thick, the scenery on the road up to Con Son mountain is similar to Sa Pa, Da Lat.

Spring rain was flying lightly, the higher she climbed the thicker the fog became, the winding stone steps could not stop an elderly tourist from the capital to attend the spring festival. Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thuong, 70 years old this year, had been to Con Son - Kiep Bac many times but this was the first time she explored Ban Co Tien on the top of Con Son. Although her two children were walking on either side, Mrs. Thuong did not need to hold her children's hands, she still slowly walked up each step.

"Old people like us feel like we are given more strength when we enter the pagoda, so all our fatigue disappears. Although we haven't reached Ban Co Tien, the scenery on both sides of the road is very beautiful and there are many tourists constantly going up and down. This time, reaching Ban Co Tien makes me satisfied," said Ms. Thuong.

Many elderly tourists said that even though they had to climb many stone steps to get to Ban Co Tien, all their fatigue and worries seemed to disappear.

Not only the elderly, Ban Co Tien is also a destination chosen by many young tourists on their journey to the ancestral land of Con Son. Truong Thuy Quynh, also from Hanoi, said this was her first time coming to Ban Co Tien. Although she did not know much about the history and culture of this place, she would look for information to gain more understanding. Thuy Quynh said she did not think that there would be such a wonderful climbing spot near Hanoi. The higher up we went, the thicker the fog became, the scenery was just like Da Lat or Sa Pa. "I will definitely come back here to climb the mountain with my friends," Thuy Quynh said.

After offering incense and visiting Con Son Pagoda and the temples in the relic, visitors will begin a journey to climb the mountain to Ban Co Tien. There are two ways to climb to the top of the mountain. Visitors can start from behind Quan The Am Tower with over 700 stone steps to go up to Ban Co Tien located at an altitude of 231 m above sea level. Or visitors can follow the path from Tran Nguyen Dan Temple with the same length and slope. If you take your time, walking and resting, after only about 1 hour visitors will set foot on the top of the mountain.

Late blooming peach trees along the road to the top of the mountain make the spring natural scenery even more poetic.

Con Son Mountain is also known as Ky Lan Mountain. The mountain is 1,400 m long, originating from the Yen Tu and Huyen Dinh ranges. The top of the mountain has a flat area, where heaven and earth are in harmony, with a sacred atmosphere, and where fairies reside. During the Tran Dynasty, the Third Patriarch of Truc Lam Huyen Quang built Con Son into the center of Truc Lam Buddhism, and built a hermitage on the top of the mountain as a place to chant sutras, meditate, preach, and for Taoist priests to practice alchemy. This place is often covered with white clouds, so it is called Bach Van Hermitage (White Cloud Hermitage).

Famous people of different dynasties when coming to Con Son to settle down and travel such as Tran Nguyen Dan, Chu Van An, Nguyen Phi Khanh, Nguyen Trai, Cao Ba Quat... all went to Bach Van Hermitage to enjoy the beautiful scenery, compose poetry and contemplate national affairs.

On the Fairy Chessboard, chess pieces are always available to invite visitors.

According to ancient stories, this is the place where heaven and earth meet, and fairies choose it as a place to communicate with the lower world. On days when white clouds cover the sky, fairies from the sky often come down to play chess. One autumn morning, poets parted the grass and lifted the flowers to find the top of the mountain. When they got close to the place, they heard the sound of zithers and flutes, but when they arrived, there was no one, only an unfinished chess board. People believed that fairies came down here to play chess, dance and sing, and when they heard people, they quickly flew back to heaven, leaving behind the unfinished chess board, so this place is also called the Fairy Chess Board.

Through surveys, scientists have discovered traces of Bach Van Temple, an ancient architectural foundation shaped like the letter "Cong". In 1992, on the top of Ban Co Tien, a stele house was built, with an ancient two-story, eight-roofed watchtower-style architecture. The landscape was renovated, surrounded by stone embankments, and planted with trees.

A young couple tries their hand at a game of chess on the Fairy Chessboard on the top of Con Son.

For the convenience of visitors, the road to Ban Co Tien has been paved with solid laterite. On wet days, the higher you go, the less slippery the road is even when the clouds are covering the path. To reach the destination, visitors not only climb stone steps but also pass through many areas with flat terrain or up and down. On both sides of the road up the mountain are dense pine forests. The higher you go, the less visibility there is. In places covered in fog, you can only hear people calling out to each other ahead, not people.

Coming to Ban Co Tien, standing on the majestic mountain peak, the sacred scenery, heaven and earth in harmony, sacred energy converging... this is the paradise!

TIEN HUY - STRONG PROGRESS