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DESTINATION HUNG YEN
and King Hung sent troops to combat
them. When the troops were near the
couple’s palace, the servants asked Prin-
cess Tien Dung to fight against them,
but the princess ordered no action
against the troops as she did not want
to oppose her parents.
When the troops reached the site
it was late in the day, so they had to
wait over night. By midnight, there was
a typhoon so strong it lifted everything
into the sky.
In the morning of the following
day, people could only see a vast sand
bank and a big swamp at the palace
site. The sand bank was called the Tu
Nhien plain and the swamp was known
as the Da Trach lagoon. These are lo-
cated in today’s Hung Yen province,
only 20km south of Hanoi.
Touched by the romantic love of the
couple, people built temples in locations
throughout the Red River delta paying
homage to them. Most famous among
such temples is Da Hoa in Khoai Chau
district’s Binh Minh commune.
The temple was built atop the
basement of an ancient temple in
1894 by doctor Chu Manh Trinh, a
Phu Thi villager. Da Hoa temple, cov-
ering 18,720 square metres, provides
a picturesque view looking west to Tu
Nhien plain.
It consists of 18 houses of diverse
sizes. The temple encompasses two
zones incluing a 7,200sq.m wide outer
zone housing a special two-floor stele
house with doors in four sides and eight
curved roofs nestled under the shade of
a perennial banian tree.
From there, a wide brick path leads
to the main part with a bell tower and a
plaque tower. There are many rare arti-
facts in the temple, such as pottery vases.
The Chu Dong Tu-Tien Dung festi-
val takes place annually at the temple
from the tenth to the twelfth day of the
second lunar month to commemorate
the immortal love of the couple, with a
procession to the banks of the river and
an incense ceremony.
On the first festive day, the vil-
lagers hold their own Tutelary God
processions along the dyke of the Red
River to Da Hoa Temple. Included in
the procession of each village are flags,
drums, gongs, palanquins, eight kinds
of weapon for offerings, kylin and drag-
on dancers.
When the joint procession reaches
the temple, palanquins and offerings
are placed in a stipulated place. Next,
the members of the procession and
pilgrims begin the opening ceremony
in the courtyard.
After the opening ceremony comes
the incense-presenting ceremony, per-
formed by a respected old man and
woman from the village.
As the opening ceremony and in-
cense presenting ceremony end, people
participate in various kinds of tradition-
al games.
The water procession and a touring
ceremony take place on the second fes-
tive day. When the procession reaches
the Red River bank, several colourfully-
decorated boats row to the middle of
the river in order to get water which is
put in a jar, thus symbolising the act of
providing a bath for Princess Tien Dung.
The jar of water is carried by a palan-
quin to Da Hoa Temple for the water
offering ceremony.
Next a touring procession goes to
various places around the villages, in-
cluding the Da Trach Lagoon, and stops
at places where the couple is supposed
to have stayed.
At the Chu Dong Tu-Tien Dung relic
site, visitors can enjoy not only the
beauty of a thriving and peaceful loca-
tion, but also learn about distinctive
local cultures, traditional festivals and
the legend itself.
The Chu Dong Tu-Tien Dung fes-
tival paints a vivid picture of the rich
spiritual life of ancient Vietnamese
people in the northern plains and mid-
land regions.
Palanquin procession through villages
A traditional ride at the festival
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