De Tham historical relic site, a draw in Yen The district

Updated: 17:51, 30/12/2016

(BGO) – Yen The district in the northern province of Bac Giang holds high potential for historical and spiritual tourism with the Hoang Hoa Tham historical relic site and several ecotourism destinations being a few to name.

Author of this article, Duong Thi Lan, introduces items displayed at Yen The revolution monument house to Thai reporters. Photo: Viet Hung

Visitors from far and wide have all remembered Yen The through renowned verses that are literally translated as “When visiting Yen The, don’t forget to visit Colonel Tham’s relic site. Let’s join me in planting rice and tea, breeding Yen The chicken, and making Xuan Luong tea.”

Yen The marked its own name with the Yen The revolution led by national hero Hoang Hoa Tham (also known as De Tham – Colonel Tham) against the French colonialists in nearly 30 years (1884-1913).

On May 10, 2012, the Prime Minister approved a decision to recognize 23 relic sites attached to the Yen The revolution as national special historical relics. Among the sites, nine are located in Yen The district, namely Phong Xuong post, The temple, Ho Chuoi post, Hom post, Leo pagoda, Dinh Thep temple, Thong pagoda, Thien Thai cave and Cau Khoai temple.

Among them, The (Swear) temple stands out as the centre of the Hoang Hoa Tham historical relic site. With its historical and spiritual significance, the temple attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year.

The temple was built in late 19th century on a lowland hill. Initially, the temple was constructed with bamboo. In 1897, when Yen The insurgents and the French colonialists made the second truce, the temple was upgraded using ironwood and roof tiles as decided by De Tham. Its architecture features three rooms in the forecourt, two side rooms, and two rear rooms.

Apart from serving as a worship place honoring the great service made by fallen insurgents and a venue for spiritual and cultural activities, the temple also acted as a recruitment location where De Tham recruited soldiers for the revolution and pooled talents. Before each battle, De Tham gathered his army in front of the temple and conducted a blood ritual in which his army-men made a cut and inter-mingled their blood in a cup of alcohol and then drank it together to affirm their determination to win. After each victory, he also feted the army at the temple. As such, after the revolution ended, locals erected De Tham statue in the temple for worshipping and since then the temple’s name became The temple.

Nowadays, the most sacred temple in Yen The serves as the centre for cultural activities and the exercise of religious and belief practice for local people as well as visitors. In the backyard of the temple, there is the monument dedicated to national hero Hoang Hoa Tham which bore his famous saying “We are associated closely with our national traditional custom, and we will never abandon that custom even if we have to die.” There, it is a house displaying photos and items related to the Yen The revolution. On the right side of the monument is Phon Xuong post, which was said the general headquarters of Hoang Hoa Tham’s army, where he lived, and met with then patriots. Today, only parts of the post, including a long earthen wall and a gate, remain intact. A temple dedicated to De Tham’s third wife, Ba Can, was also built inside the Phon Xuong post.

Along with historical and spiritual relic sites, visitors to Yen The can also visit many ecotourism sites. A trip through Hoang Hoa Tham relic site can be followed by an exploration of Nga waterfall, and Ven village in Xuan Luong commune to taste Cao Lan tea, which is produced with secret methods handed down by generations of Cao Lan people.

Apart from that, they can also enjoy local specialties, including forest bee honey, sweet mashed rice cake, peanut candy, and Yen The chicken, which are well-known nationwide.

Duong Thi Lan