Spiritual works on the border
Thuong Temple, also known as Saint Tran Tu, is located on Hieu Hoa Hill (Lao Cai Ward, Lao Cai City). The temple is about 500 m from Lao Cai International Border Gate and was ranked as a National Historical - Cultural Relic in 1996.
The temple was built during the Le Dynasty, Chinh Hoa era (1680 - 1705), to worship the National Duke, Commander-in-Chief, Hung Dao Dai Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan.
People later built a temple to worship Saint Tran on Thuong Hill to remember his glorious achievements and ask for help to repel the Qing invaders.
Every year, many people come here at the beginning of the year to commemorate the merits of Saint Tran, at the same time show the morality of drinking water and remembering its source and praying for fame and fortune in the new year.
In early October, at the Thuong Temple relic site, Lao Dong Newspaper reporters recorded bustling construction activities.
Through observation, the main buildings are now completed, the worship statues have been moved into the balconies to serve the worship activities of tourists. Currently, only a few small items such as the operating house and toilets are in the final stages of implementation.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hanh (a tourist from Hanoi) said: “This historical site has existed for a long time. Recently, the temple stopped receiving visitors to expand and make it more spacious and clean than before. This helps people who come to worship and worship have a comfortable and pleasant space.”
According to Ms. Hanh, this relic has been almost completely renovated, from the houses to the interior. But this does not affect the worship of Saint Tran.
Mr. Bui Van Tuan (from Yen Bai) also shared: “After hundreds of years of history, this border relic has put on a new coat. Every year, my family still comes here to pray for peace, health and to remember the merits of Hung Dao Dai Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan in fighting foreign invaders for the nation.”
Construction by donations and socialization
According to the investigation of Lao Dong Newspaper reporters, the project to restore and embellish the Thuong Temple and Am Temple relics, invested by the Lao Cai City Monuments Management Board, has a total cost of about 47 billion VND, drawn from donations and socialized sources.
Construction time from April 15, the unit in charge is a joint venture of Vietnam Civil Construction and Cultural Works Joint Stock Company and Thai Minh Investment and Construction Consulting Joint Stock Company.
It is known that in this renovation, the Upper Temple and Am Temple will be completely rebuilt, and the temple area will be expanded.
For the Upper Temple, the area of the main temple will increase from 151 m2 to 251 m2; the left and right houses will increase from 51 m2 each to 74 m2; the temple yard will be expanded from 230 m2 to more than 300 m2 and the inner gate will be renovated along with many other auxiliary items. As for the Am Temple, the area will increase from 58.7 m2 to 103 m2.
On October 5, speaking to a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Head of Lao Cai City Monuments Management Ngo Ngoc Ha said: “Currently, the restoration and embellishment of Thuong Temple and Am Temple is almost complete, the workload is about 99%. Only a few small items such as auxiliary works, toilets, and the operating house are being urgently constructed.”
According to Mr. Ngo Ngoc Ha, the construction may be extended until the end of 2024. The reason is related to the overall planning in area 27, Lao Cai ward, not just Thuong Temple.
Therefore, the unit is asking the contractor to return the site to compare and adjust with the overall planning of the entire Thuong Temple complex, then continue the work.
