Con Son Stream - Hidden Value

The stream flows in a winding, winding manner, with small rapids and waterfalls on the upper part. At the bottom of the stream are large and small round rocks that have been eroded by water over many years. On both sides of the stream, the trees are dense, lush, and green all year round.

Con Son Stream has created a special feng shui landscape for the relic complex. The stream originates from Ngu Nhac and Con Son mountains. Ngu Nhac is a sacred mountain range, stretching from North to South with a length of more than 4 km, the highest peak is 238 m, located in the northeast of Con Son. Ngu Nhac symbolizes the 5 directions (four directions and the central direction: East, West, South, North and center, corresponding to the elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth). On the mountain, the ancients built 5 temples to worship the gods Ngu Phuong Ngu Lao Quan, so it is called "Ngu Nhac Linh Tu". Ngu Phuong Ngu Lao Quan includes: Thanh De in the East, Bach De in the West, Xich De in the South, Hac De in the North and Hoang De in the Central (center).

Ngu Nhac is also considered a blessed land, the place where Buddha, Saints and fairies reside, who control good luck, bad luck, disaster, fortune, rule over all species and govern trees, mountains, forests and ravines. Con Son spring water originating from here is rare and precious, considered the vitality of the whole region...

Along the Con Son stream, during its formation, there are many rapids and waterfalls, winding to create a beautiful landscape, then flowing into Ban Nguyet Lake and Con Son Lake. These two lakes were formed naturally and are special in that Ban Nguyet Lake is the Minh Duong of Con Son Pagoda and Con Son Lake is the Minh Duong of Nguyen Trai Temple, with the special shape of mountains, lakes, and streams, the ancients saw this as a rare land, a sacred land with talented people...

Con Son Stream is associated with famous names, great cultural figures, and outstanding politicians: Tu Do Tran Nguyen Dan; National Liberation Hero, World Cultural Celebrity Nguyen Trai; Cao Ba Quat; National Liberation Hero, Outstanding Vietnamese Cultural Figure President Ho Chi Minh...

Con Son Stream has two large, relatively flat rocks called Thach Ban. The small Thach Ban is about 70 m wide.², the face has a very beautiful brown color, the large Stone Table is about 200 m wide²upstream is called the Five-room Rock.

On Con Son stream, there are Thau Ngoc bridge and Da bridge, which are also highlights of the stream. Thau Ngoc bridge is designed in the style of a covered bridge. Nguyen Trai often went up this bridge to admire the scenery, write poems and enjoy tea: "Dinh Thau Ngoc, the fairy is green with snow and milk/Song mai hoa, the book of Hy kinh".

By the end of the 19th century, Thau Ngoc Bridge was considered a masterpiece in Con Son. When Cao Ba Quat visited Thanh Hu cave, he went up Thau Ngoc bridge to enjoy the view and wrote the famous poem Con Son Hanh: "Thau Ngoc bridge, wild flowers are blooming/ In Thanh Hu cave, birds are chirping".

With rare scenery, bearing great historical and cultural value, on February 15, 1965, Uncle Ho visited Con Son. He went up the mountain, entered Thanh Hu cave, came to Nguyen Trai's house and stopped at Thach Ban on the bank of the stream, where he advised: "Cadres and people must protect historical relics well, plant many trees so that Con Son becomes a beautiful pine forest".

Over the years, Thau Ngoc Bridge no longer exists. In 2011, the Provincial People's Committee decided to rebuild this bridge on Con Son stream. The bridge was built in an ancient architectural style, with two wind-welcoming towers on both sides, where visitors can rest and enjoy the breeze. The right tower is built in a hexagonal shape, the left tower is octagonal, symbolizing the meaning of a place to bestow wealth, prosperity, and bring peace to everyone.

In front of the gate of Nguyen Trai Temple, the stream bed is wide and considered a lake. This lake is covered with lotus and water lilies, very beautiful. Crossing the lake is a stone bridge, also designed in an ancient style, with water carvings on three sides, and the supporting beams are designed in the style of dragon heads... very suitable for the landscape of the temple and pagoda here.

Currently, in the summer (from May to August), Con Son stream attracts a large number of tourists from all over the world, especially young people. Coming here, tourists can freely wade in the stream, sightsee, take photos... with the cool water flowing along the stream.

Recently, there was a time when the Con Son stream ran dry due to many reasons. According to the Institute of Water Resources (Vietnam Institute of Water Resources, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), the cause was the decline in groundwater levels in the areas surrounding the Con Son and Ngu Nhac mountain ranges; geological cracks and faults along the stream, due to geological shaking causing cracks to widen, causing water loss...

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Lien, Head of the Con Son - Kiep Bac Relic Management Board, said: Restoring the flow of Con Son stream is extremely urgent, demonstrating appropriate behavior towards a historical stream, containing cultural and spiritual elements, dense with traces of famous people in this sacred relic site. Currently, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Institute of Water Engineering are actively completing the technical plan to restore the flow of Con Son stream. It is expected that by the end of 2023, the application topic will be implemented.

With such great value, it is hoped that the stream will soon be restored, creating a highlight for the relic, while promoting its inherent values, contributing to beautifying the landscape, attracting a large number of people to visit and enjoy.