Sacred temple of Princess Thien Thanh - wife of King Hung Dao

Nguyen Tu Quoc Mau Tran Trieu (titled Thien Thanh Thai Truong) was the eldest daughter of King Tran Thai Tong. In the year Tan Hoi (1251), the princess married the Duke, Commander-in-Chief Tran Hung Dao. From then on, she left the palace to help her husband govern the country. During the two resistance wars against the Yuan invaders of Dai Viet (1285 and 1288), King Tran assigned her to be the general in charge of military provisions. The princess guided noble families and common people to implement the "Thanh da" (empty gardens and houses) strategy, launching guerrilla warfare to wear down the enemy's forces.

Despite her status as a noblewoman, Princess Thien Thanh endured many hardships for the sake of a great cause, stayed close to the people, was directly in charge of the rear, organized production, gathered food, and arranged military food storage. The princess took advantage of the dangerous terrain of mountains, forests, rivers, and streams to defend, store food, and serve the military camp in all situations. At that time, the entire vast area of ​​Kiep Bac, Ben village, Thanh Tan, Thanh Tao, Trung Que, Da Coc, Bai Thao, Huyen Dinh mountain... were all especially important logistical bases of the Van Kiep defense line.

Food and rice were transported along the Vang River and Mo Stream to Ho Thoc for storage and hiding. While on the battlefield, soldiers sacrificed themselves to kill the enemy, in the rear, the princess commanded the establishment of production facilities, planting and raising livestock to provide food for the army. To later generations, the area still had traces of the names Ho Lon and Ho Thoc, and the folk song:The Mother let the buffaloes roam in Huyen Dinh/The Mother let the pigs roam in Trung Que fields.

In 1288, the Yuan army lost the battle and retreated to their country. That same year, in the fall, Princess Thien Thanh passed away. Upon hearing the news, the people were heartbroken, the court mourned, King Tran granted her the title "Nguyen Tu Quoc Mau, Thien Thanh Thai Truong Cong Chua" and allowed the carving of a statue to worship her.

The temple of Nguyen Tu Quoc Mau was built during the Tran Dynasty, located on Dim Hill, Thanh Tan Village, Le Loi Commune (Chi Linh). This was originally one of the bases storing military provisions during the war against the Yuan invaders. Legend has it that because there were many sweet potatoes grown here, many of which were soaked in water, it was named Dim Hill, which is also the popular name of Dim Temple, passed down to this day.

The temple leans against the hillside, with the shape of water in front and mountain behind. The Luc Dau River flows across in the distance in front, with the Triu and Dong Trong islands on both sides as solid arms. The space is open and airy, the scenery is charming, the moon is clear and the wind is cool all year round, the leaves of the forest trees rustle in the wind between the sky and clouds all year round.

It has been more than 700 years since the temple was destroyed by natural forces, war, and bombs... but the locals have renovated it many times to have a place of worship where the incense smoke never goes out.

The most recent restoration was in 1996, when the people built 2 central rooms, restored 3 front rooms and 1 back room. Dim Temple currently has the architecture of the front (-) and the back (J). From the traffic road, visitors pass through the ceremonial gate built in the style of four pillars, the roof top is decorated with two dragons facing the moon. The outside has the words "Van co toi linh". On both sides of the pillars are decorated with a pair of parallel sentences:Sufficient food and strong soldiers will last for posterity/Great achievements and great virtue will last for eternity.Sufficient food, strong soldiers will be remembered for posterity/Great achievements and great virtues will be remembered for thousands of years)Princess Thien Thanh was respected by all people, recorded in history books. Her achievements in the cause of fighting foreign invaders and protecting the country were as heavy as Mount Thai Son and as bright as the Big Dipper. Later generations praised her:There are beautiful women in the world/Heroic women in the world(There have been women with beauty that toppled the world, but there have never been women with virtues like a saint..

To show gratitude to the Mother Goddess, every year on the anniversary of her death (28th of the 9th lunar month), the villagers hold a solemn ceremony. Visitors from all over the area come to offer fragrant flowers, sweet fruits, cakes and offerings made from local rice, flags and banners fill the sky, and incense sticks and candles are lit to pay respect to the gods.