On the occasion of Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day, the Con Son - Kiep Bac Relic Management Board officially introduced a new tourist route called "Exploring Thanh Mai Encyclopaedia Forest - The 700-year mark of Truc Lam", opening the door to welcome visitors to experience.
The thematic tour route combines nature, archaeology, history and spirituality, recreating the ancient pilgrimage route of Truc Lam Buddhism connecting Chi Linh with Yen Tu, which has existed continuously for more than 700 years.
This is considered a new step in the strategy of diversifying heritage tourism products, while contributing to clarifying the value of Con Son - Kiep Bac in the Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac World Heritage Complex.
Visitors will follow the journey of the ancient Zen master Truc Lam through a series of destinations: Co Chau pagoda - Sung Nghiem pagoda - Con Son pagoda - Thoi Loi pagoda - Thanh Mai pagoda - Thanh Mai 2 - Thanh Mai 3 - Yen Tu peak. Each location is associated with the story of the Three Gifts of Truc Lam - the founding families of the Zen movement imbued with the spirit of Dai Viet culture.
At Thanh Mai relic site, visitors have the opportunity to observe the remains of three architectural layers from the Tran, Le Trung Hung and Nguyen dynasties. More than 1,000 artifacts discovered in the excavation in 2021 show that religious and spiritual life here has been continuous for centuries - an important source of documents for the UNESCO World Heritage Recognition application.
The tour "Exploring Thanh Mai maple Forest" brings many experiences such as offering incense, listening to in-depth explanations; climbing a light mountain 400m in the middle of maple forest; visiting archaeological sites; camping, picnicking; conquering Tam Ban grass hill; enjoying local specialties and shopping for OCOP products.
According to the Relic Management Board, the new tourism product is not only an activity to show gratitude to generations of preserving Con Son - Kiep Bac but also a message of sustainable development: preservation associated with exploitation, bringing heritage into life in a vivid way, attracting tourists and creating livelihoods for local people.
The unit hopes that each tourist will become a "heritage ambassador", contributing to spreading the cultural and historical values of Con Son - Kiep Bac through practical experiences. The Relic Management Board respectfully invites visitors, pilgrim groups, researchers and travel businesses to accompany in the journey "Explore Thanh Mai maple Forest - touch nature, understand heritage, find yourself".
