Uncle’s words in Con Son inscribed
Xã hội - Ngày đăng : 23:43, 15/02/2015
For the last 50 years, the provincial officials and people have repaired, embellished, and turned the area into a famous tourist attraction.
50 years after the Uncle’s visit, Con Son relic has become a beautiful “tung lam”
From sacred last wish…
Uncle Ho visited Con Son (Chi Linh, Hai Duong) around noon of February 15, 1965. After burning incense at the pagoda and ancestral temple, the Uncle read Con Son stele, wrote in the visitors’ book, and recommended Hai Duong officials and people and head monks of the pagoda to actively plant trees to green Con Son and turn the relic into a local tourist attraction, a beautiful “tung lam” (a pagoda or a pine forest).
Inscribing His sacred teaching, the provincial officials and people have done practical deeds for the last 50 years to repair, embellish, and turn Con Son – Kiep Bac relic area into a domestically and internationally famous tourist attraction.
The provincial authorities restored a wide range of items from 1994 to 2000 to prevent degradation. In Con Son, the ceremony house, front and central chambers, the ancestral temple, Huyen Quang tower, the stele house, the three-door gate, the bell-tower, Ngoc well, the road to Thanh Hu Dong, the foundation of Nguyen Trai’s house, Thach Ban, and Ban Co Tien with over 600 stone steps nearly 2.5km long, pagoda yard, and Ban Nguyet lake were restored. In Kiep Bac, more than 1,500m2 of the temple yard, Mat Rong well, two thanh cac houses, two dai vu rows, the central house, back and front worshipping chambers, etc. were restored.
Not only restoration, the provincial authorities also pay attention to infrastructure construction and relic
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The temple of World Cultural Celebrity Nguyen Trai with 22 items has been built since 2000. A series of works of Tran Nguyen Dan temple, a stele house on the foundation of Nguyen Trai’s old house, Thach Ban, a road to Ngu Nhac, a left house, a right corridor in Con Son pagoda, etc. have also been built with high quality. This is followed by the restoration of works destroyed by nature and wars, such as Thau Ngoc bridge and Thanh Hu Dong in Con Son, Nam Tao and Bac Dau temples in Kiep Bac, etc.
The project of repairing and embellishing Kiep Bac temple with 12 work items divided into two phases and a total investment of over VND77 billion begun in June 2013 with the first phase having been complete.
The 2014 Con Son – Kiep Bac Autumn Festival marked the casting of 18 Arhat statues. Apart from the placement of the statues, the restoration of a nine-storeyed lotus-shaped tower and the ancestral temple in Con Son pagoda will be commenced at the 2015 Con Son – Kiep Bac Spring Festival.
… to beautiful tung lam
The flora in Con Son has been planted and protected to keep the relic area green
Much importance has been attached to the preservation and development of the relics’ natural landscape by authorities at all levels and branches.
Con Son relic is famous for an ancient pine forest and a re (Artemisia annua) forest associated with Tu Do (Minister over the Masses) Tran Nguyen Dan and his wife. Nowadays, the pine forest is still being strictly protected, and the immense re forest is still spreading its green by Con Son lake.
Along with the protection of old pines, the pine forest in Con Son has been continuously expanded and newly planted in recent years, forming a particularly interesting natural landscape.
Mr. Hoang Duc Luu, Director of the provincial Forest Management Unit, said there are around 1,500ha of forests, mostly pines, in Con Son relic area. Of which, old pines (ancient pines) with 200 – 300-year-old ones occupy about 600ha. The remaining area is a pine forest newly planted in the 1990s.
The Forest Management Unit annually grows an additional 10 – 20ha of pines. Since 1995, the unit has completely planted a 30ha Con Son botanical garden with about 450 floral species, including 30 species on the Red List, creating a precious natural landscape and genetic source for the country.
Along with forestation, forest rangers grasp key areas at risk of forest fires, organize patrols, and detect unauthorized people entering the forests for illegal exploitation of forest products.
The Management Unit of Con Son – Kiep Bac Relics frequently mobilizes locals and visitors to preserve the pine and re forests and streams around the pagoda and temples, and newly plant thousands of trees to create landscapes inside the relics, around Con Son stream, etc.
The people of the Eastern land nowadays can be proud because Con Son and Kiep Bac have become national tourist attractions and beautiful “tung lam” as the Uncle’s recommendation.
| The provincial People’s Committee in September 2006 approved a project for traditional Con Son – Kiep Bac festivals in the 2006 – 2010 period. The festivals were methodically and successfully restored in four years: - The provincial authorities restored the ceremonies of Saint Tran commemoration, road procession, army festival, and seal bestowing and trance entering performances in 2006. - The festival of flower garlands and colored lanterns, the ceremonies of peace praying, water procession, deity statue cleaning, and commemoration of Celebrity Nguyen Trai and Tu Do Tran Nguyen Dan, the requiem for forsaken spirits, and folk games like fairy swing, cockfighting, national wrestling, cheo (traditional operetta) singing, etc. were restored in 2007 and 2008. - The ritual of offering sacrifices to heaven and earth on Ngu Nhac mountain was successfully restored at the 2010 Con Son – Kiep Bac Spring Festival. |
HANG TRAN