Cua Ong Temple Festival in the northern province of Quang Ninh was one of 17 new items on the national intangible cultural heritage list recognised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.


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Cua Ong Temple is located nearby Bai Tu Long Bay, which is close to the World Heritage Ha Long Bay. The temple has three areas including Lower Temple, Middle Temple and Upper Temple. 

It is dedicated to Tran Quoc Tang, a hero in the resistance war against Mongol invaders under the Tran Dynasty in the 11th century.

The Cua Ong Temple festival is held to commemorate his contributions to defeating the aggressors and defending the Northeast region. 

The festival is held from the second day of the first lunar month to the 30th day of the third lunar month. The main festival day is on the third and the fourth days of the second lunar month.

The festival includes rituals and processions. 

The recognised items include traditional festivals, rituals and customs, traditional handicrafts and folk performances.

Some of the other 16 heritages are Luu Xa communal house festival in Hoa Chinh commune, Chuong My district, Hanoi; birthday celebration Hat khoan of the Nung ethnic group in Na Ri district, Bac Kan province; Bai Choi singing in Da Nang City; and traditional embroidering in Dong Cuu, Dung Tien commune, Hanoi’s Thuong Tin district, among others.

Dong Nai recognises special national heritage sites


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Tran Bien Literature Temple


The Dong Nai Province authority has announced the recognition of the megalithic Hang Gon tomb and Tran Bien Literature Temple as special national heritage sites.

According to Le Kim Bang, director of the province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the tomb in Long Khanh town has a unique architecture rarely found elsewhere in Viet Nam or the world.

The site was discovered by French civil engineer J. Bouchot in 1927 during the construction of a road from Long Khanh Town to Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.

The tomb is made of huge granite stone slabs weighing 30-40 tonnes each. The rectangular shaped tomb is 4.2m long, 2.7m wide and 1.6m high. It is surrounded by many granite pillars 7.5m high.

Experts said the ancient tomb dates back to between 150BCE and 24CE.

Tran Bien literature temple was built in 1715 in Buu Long Ward in Bien Hoa city and renowned as the first literature temple built in the south.

The temple was renovated in 1794 and 1852 before being destroyed by the French colonialists in 1861.

In 1998 Dong Nai rebuilt the 15ha temple to mark the 300th anniversary of Bien Hoa – Dong Nai Region.

VNA/VNS