The gate of Duong Lam village (Photo: VNA) Located in Son Tay town of the same name district just 44km awayfrom Hanoi’s centre, the village has the typical features of a rural villagewith a giant banyan tree, fresh water well, and a communal house, along with 956antique houses dating back 100 to 400 years.
Possessing interesting cultural value and a landscape andarchitecture typical for a rural area in the Red River Delta, Duong Lam villagehas long become a popular tourist destination in the capital.
In 2006, Duong Lam became the first village that had beenrecognised as a national historical and cultural relic.
Every year, it attracted between an average of between120,000 and 130,000 visitors, including up to 7,000 foreigners.
According to Vice Chairman of the Son Tay town People’sCommittee Le Dai Thang, great domestic and international attention have beenpaid to the conservation and promotion of the village in the past decade.
Ancient land,legendary people
Favourable waterway transportation made Duong Lam aresidence of ancient Vietnamese dating back to the Phung Nguyen and Dong Sonculture.
It was the hometown of two kings - Phung Hung (761-802) and NgoQuyen (808-944), and also the birthplace of Envoy Giang Van Minh – an excellentdiplomat in the late 16th and early 17th century.
In a 1971 excavation, archaeologists found stone relics fromthe Hung Kings’ era in the village.
Meanwhile, a survey, co-organised by the Institute ofVietnamese Studies and Development Science under the Vietnam NationalUniversity – Hanoi and Japan’s Showa Women's University, initially concludedthat Duong Lam could be inhabited by people of the Phung Nguyen culture datingback about 4,000 years ago.
Duong Lam commune is home to a series of ranked relic sites,including the Phung Hung Temple, Ngo Quyen Tomb, Giang Van Minh Temple, MongPhu communal house, and Mia pagoda.
The commune consists of six villages with Mong Phu thebiggest among them.
Duong Lam residents, similar to those in any rural areas innorth Vietnam, attach great importance to the gate and the communal house oftheir village, which are long considered the symbols of prosperity.
The gate of Mong Phu village was built with four pillars, whichwere made of four different kinds of excellent ironwoods and erected above fourgreen stones from Quang Ninh province’s Dong Trieu village. The two doors atthe gate were made of Erythrophleum fordii wood and the wall built of laterites– a special material used in construction in the Red River Delta region.
An ancient house yard in Duong Lam (Photo: VNA) Ancient lateriteVietnamese village
Laterites can be found almost anywhere in Duong Lam,becoming an integral part of the village.
Laterites, the key material of walls, gates and wells, areabundant in Mong Phu village, lying under fields, garden ponds, or deep down underground.Laterite, both a soil and a rock type rich in iron and aluminum, is often softunderground but getting harder over time once it is dug up to build houses.
Houses’ walls and fences made of rough dark honey-brown brick-shapedlaterites along the village road create a unique charm.
The combination of agriculture and tourism is not new, butfor Duong Lam Village, it is a tremendous effort toward building a sustainableindustry and helping locals find another source of income apart from theircrops, all while providing tourists with a unique experience.
In the past, since there were not many overnightaccommodations available in the village, visitors often opted for short daytrips. However, these days many local families have opened their doors tostrangers for a home-stay experience.
An overnight stay is exactly what people need to fully enjoywhat the village has to offer. They can spend the day working with farmers, orlisten to traditional musical performances by the village’s artisans.
All of these make up an ideal tourism product, bringing infinancial stability and helping the village preserve itself as a pearl inVietnam’s unique culture./.
VNA
