Sacred Tranh Temple

Tranh Temple (also known as Quan Lon Tuan Tranh Temple) is an ancient temple located near Tranh ferry.

According to legend, during the Tran Dynasty, at the confluence of the Tranh River and the Luoc River, people built a temple to worship the water god who ruled this section of the river. The temple was originally a small temple, also known as Tranh Giang Dai Vuong ancient temple, located close to the riverbank so it was often affected by tides and whirlpools. Because the riverbank was often eroded, in 1935, people built a new temple in Tranh Xuyen village.

Based on the system of stele inscriptions at the temple, in the fifth year of Tu Duc (1852), the temple was restored and embellished on a large scale, with elaborate and sophisticated carvings, including a statue of Quan Lon Tuan Tranh.

In 1887, the French occupied Hai Duong and Ninh Giang. They stationed troops in Do Giang citadel (now Ninh Giang town) and used a number of architectural works as their base, including Tranh temple. However, they did not dare to destroy the temple because they heard that it was very sacred.

Later, the people built a new Tranh temple in the middle of Ninh Giang town in the style of "inner public, outer private", with a three-door gate donated by Mr. Dao Lang in Van Hoi commune. The temple had a total of 127 rooms on a 4-acre land area of ​​Bac Bo. In 1946, when the resistance war against French colonialism broke out, the scorched earth resistance was carried out, the temple was destroyed, leaving only 3 forbidden rooms.

In 1954, Tranh Temple was restored to meet the religious needs of the people. In 1966, due to the need to expand the military barracks, local people and Brigade 513 (Military Region 3) moved the temple to its current location.

Tranh Temple worships the water god of Tranh River, called Quan Lon Tuan Tranh. This is a folk belief of people who work on the river, then spread to traders, hoping that everything will go smoothly, and business will be lucky. Through this form of belief, we can understand more about our ancestors' fight against natural disasters.

On March 25, 2009, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism ranked Tranh Temple as a national architectural and artistic relic. Every year, Tranh Temple has two festivals: a spring festival and an incense offering ceremony in the fall. The art of singing Chau Van and practicing the worship of the Mother Goddess of the Three Realms have become one of the outstanding cultural features at the Tranh Temple festival.

The Tranh Temple Traditional Festival was included in the list of national intangible cultural heritage in 2022. The national architectural and artistic relic of Tranh Temple was also recognized as a product meeting 4-star OCOP standards. In March 2024, the Tranh Temple Festival was especially meaningful when the national architectural and artistic relic of Tranh Temple was recognized as a tourist destination.

These events are very important for Ninh Giang town in particular and Ninh Giang district in general, contributing to the preservation and promotion of local cultural heritage values. In the coming time, the Party Committee, People's Council, People's Committee of Ninh Giang town and the Management Board of Tranh Temple will continue to coordinate to promote the application for recognition of Tranh Temple as a special national relic.

On the occasion of the Lunar New Year of At Ty 2025, the Tranh Temple Management Board has prepared all the most thoughtful conditions to be ready to welcome tens of thousands of visitors to visit the Spring Festival. In particular, arranging a check-in point outside the temple gate to serve visitors to visit and take souvenir photos; focusing on landscape improvement, ensuring environmental sanitation, fire prevention and fighting; not allowing begging in the relic area.