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Nam Dinh
Area: 1,650.8 sq. km.
Population: 1,974.3 thousand habitants (2006)
Capital: Nam Dinh City.
Districts: Vu Ban, My Loc, Y Yen, Nam Truc, Truc Ninh, Xuan Truong, Giao Thuy, Nghia Hung, Hai Hau.
Ethnic groups: Viet (Kinh), Tay, Muong, Hoa...
Introduction: Geography, Tourism, Transportation.
Attraction:
- Historical & Cultural Vestiges: Co Le Pagoda, Pho Minh Pagoda.
- Cultural Travel: An Cu Village Festival, Bao Loc Temple Festival, Cao Dai Village Festival, Co Le Pagoda Festival, Co Trach Temple Festival, Co Tung Hamlet Festival, Dim Temple Festival, Dong Cao Temple Festival, Hat Communal House Festival, Keo Hanh Thien Pagoda Festival, La Xuyen Village Festival, Luong Pagoda Festival (Tram Gian Pagoda – Hundred-room Pagoda), Phu Day Festival, Phuong Bong Communal House Festival, Phuong Thanh Festival, Tran Temple Festival, Truc Chinh Communal House Festival, Vi Khe Flower Festival, Vieng Market Festival.
Geography
Situated on Red River Delta, Nam Dinh is contiguous to Ha Nam, Thai Binh provinces on the north, Ninh Binh Province on the west and the East Sea on the east with 72km seaside. Nam Dinh is not only a granary of midland in the North but also a center of textile industry in Vietnam.
Tourism
 Nam Dinh is proud of Tran Royal Remains on Tuc Mac Village, the native land of the Tran Kings and national hero Tran Hung Dao, comprising Thien Truong and Co Trach temples and Pho Minh Pagoda and Tower. The province is also famous for Phu Day Remains on Vu Ban District. These remains including Phu Tien Huong (the Tien Huong Temple), the Van Cat Temple and the tomb of Goddess Lieu Hanh have high value of architecture.
Coming to Xuan Thuy National Park, tourists enjoy observing many of special birds, 9 types of which are listed in the world's Red Book. From November to April, it is a gathering place for tens of thousands of birds migrating from the North. Beside that, tourists are interested in admiring varieties of orchids, camellias and roses in Vi Khe Ornamental Plant Village, swimming in Thinh Long Beach. 
Every year, Nam Dinh held special traditional events like Vieng Fair, Phu Day, Co Le, Dai Bi, Keo Hanh Thien, Vong Cung pagodas, Tran Temple festivals. Cheo, van, xam songs, puppet showing and boat racing are preserved here.
Transportation
Nam Dinh is 90km from Hanoi. Reunification Express Train from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City stops in Nam Dinh. National Highway No.21 links National Highway No.1A to center of Nam Dinh. National Highway No.10 from Ninh Binh Town to Thai Binh, Haiphong, Quang Ninh provinces via Nam Dinh.
Attraction
1) Historical & Cultural Vestiges
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Co Le Pagoda 
Location: Located in Co Le Townlet, Truc Ninh District, Nam Dinh Province.
Characteristics: It is said that Co Le Pagoda was built by Buddhist Monk Nguyen Minh Khong during the Ly dynasty.
From Nam Dinh, cross the hanging bridge over the Dao River, then take Highway 21 for 15km to Co Le. Finally, cross the small bridge and turn right. Co Le Pagoda is 200m away.
Buddhist Monk Pham Quang Tuyen rebuilt the existing Co Le Pagoda in November 1920. In front of the pagoda is the 12-storey Cuu Pham Lien Hoa Tower built in 1926. The  octagonal base of the tower sits on the back of a turtle facing the pagoda. In the tower, there is a huge staircase spiraling to the top of the tower. From the top, there is a panoramic view of the entire area.
A bridge leads to Phat Giao Hoi Quan, a Buddhist meeting place, built in 1936. In addition to this bridge, the main pagoda can be reached by two other bridges in the mountains. In the center of the pagoda is a large 9,000-kg bell moulded in 1936. In the upper temple is the statue of Thich Ca Buddha; it is made of red lacquer trimmed with gold.
Several rare relics, such as a great red bell and bronze drums dating from the Ly dynasty, are kept in this pagoda.
Location: Located in Tuc Mac Hamlet, Loc Vuong Commune, Nam Dinh City, far from Hanoi about 9km  and 3km north of Nam Dinh City.
Characteristics: The pagoda was originally built during the Ly Dynasty and later expanded in 1262 during the Tran Dynasty. It was a place for high-ranking mandarins and the aristocracy of the Tran Royal Court to worship and lead their religious life.
The pagoda built in the noi cong ngoai quoc style where the inner part was built in the form of the Han Chinese ideograph word cong (I) and the outer, the Chinese word quoc, had clear imprints of the cohabitation of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.
A 7-tonne cauldron, since vanished, once guarded the front and could hold two men, was dubbed one of the four precious objects of An Nam, joining the Bao Thien Tower, the Quy Dien Bell and Quynh Lam Statue. The statue of King Tran Nhan Tong lying on his left side shows him entering Nirvana; the statues of the three founders of the Truc Lam Buddhist Sect, Tran Nhan Tong, Phap Loa and Huyen Quang; and 60 red-lacquered and gold-trimmed Buddha and Saint Statues have been preserved in the pagoda.
In particularly, a 13 story-tower in the shape of a lotus, 21 meters high, was built within the vicinity of the pagoda in 1305. It is estimated that the 700-tonne tower relies on an area of only 30 square meters but up to now it has remained where for 700 years. The base and the tower's first floor were constructed with flagstones and the upper floors were built with bricks.
2) Cultural Travel
Time: 6th day of the first lunar month.
Place: Xuan Vinh Commune, Xuan Truong District, Nam Dinh Province.
Characteristics: Sticks dance.
Time: 20th day of the eighth lunar month.
Place: My Loc District, Nam Dinh Province.
Objects of worship: Tran Hung Dao.
Characteristics: Sacrifices-offering ceremony and popular games.
Time: The 22nd day of the seventh lunar month.
Place: Cao Dai Village, My Thanh Commune, My Loc District, Nam Dinh Province.
Objects of worship: The Great tutor Tran Quang Khai and Princess Phung Duong (his wife).
Characteristics: Procession of god, sacrifice-offering ceremony, performance of the old tales of arresting invaders by fishermen, the female lord of Muong cooking rice for the soldiers, and games such as wrestling, contests of duck catching, trai racing, cloth weaving.
Time: From the 13th to the 16th day of the ninth lunar month.
Place: Co Le Townlet, Truc Ninh District, Nam Dinh Province.
Objects of worship: Zen Buddhist Nguyen Minh Khong, the ancestor of bronze casting.
Characteristics: Buddha and patron saint worshipping, boat racing on Dao River, water puppetry shows, boi chess playing.
Time: 18th to the 20th day of the eighth lunar month.
Place: Loc Vuong Ward, Nam Dinh City, Nam Dinh Province.
Objects of worship: Tran Kings.
Characteristics: Sacrifices-offering ceremony, paying pilgrimage, incense offering.
Time: 1st day of the ninth lunar month.
Place: Nam Hong Commune, Nam Truc District, Nam Dinh Province.
Objects of honour: Village's tutelary god - Pham Hoang Giap, who had merit of fighting aggressors on sea.
Time: 30th day of the first lunar month to the 2nd day of the second lunar month.
Place: Nam Duong Commune, Nam Truc District, Nam Dinh Province.
Characteristics: Sacrifices- offering ceremony, and procession, traditional games such as wrestle, to tom playing (card game using a deck of 120 cards and played by five persons), cheo singing (popular opera).
Time: 18th day of the eighth lunar month.
Place: Dong Cao Village, Yen Loc Commune, Y Yen District, Nam Dinh Province.
Objects of worship: An Duong Vuong and My Chau.
Characteristics: Procession of My Nuong's palanquin to visit and confess her faults with her father.
- Hat Communal House Festival
Time: From the 15th to the 20th day of the tenth lunar month.
Place: Hong Quang Commune, Nam Truc District, Nam Dinh Province.
Objects of worship: Village's tutelary god. Characteristics: Procession and making sacrifice to the god, wrestling, water puppetry, Chinese chess.
- Keo Hanh Thien Pagoda Festival
Time: From the 13th to the 15th day of the ninth lunar month.
Place: Hanh Thien Village, Xuan Hong Commune, Xuan Truong District, Nam Dinh Province.
Objects of worship: The Buddha and Zen Buddhist Khong Lo - the ancestor of bronze casting, who was talented in doctoring, literature, poetry, architecture and had merit in serving the King and country.
Characteristics: Incense-offering ceremony, worshipping, praying, dragon dance, boat racing on Hong River (only for man).
- La Xuyen Village Festival
Time: The 11th day of the third lunar month. It is held once every 3 years in the years of Mouse, Cat, Horse, Rooster.
Place: La Xuyen Village, Yen Ninh Commune, Y Yen District, Nam Dinh Province.
Objects of worship: Lao La (an old man La), the founder of woodenwork in the Pre-Le Dynasty and Princess Lieu Hanh.
Characteristics: Water procession, God of the soil procession, swinging, feast cooking contests between families.
- Luong Pagoda Festival (Tram Gian Pagoda – Hundred-room Pagoda)
Time: 13th to the 16th day of the third lunar month.
Place: Hai Anh Commune, Hai Hau District, Nam Dinh Province.
Objects of worship: Tran Vu, Vu Chi, Hoang Gia, Pham Cap - 4 ancestors from Co Le came here to break fresh ground and set up the village in 1486.
Characteristics: Worshipping for good health, good luck, worshipping Buddha, palanquin procession.
Time: From the 1st to the 10th day of the third lunar month, the main festival day is on the 3rd day of the third lunar month.
Place: Phu Day, Kim Thai Commune, Vu Ban District, Nam Dinh Province.
Objects of worship: Princess Lieu Hanh - the Holy Mother.
Characteristics: The procession of the Holy Mother, Chinese character forming game, hau dong (seance - typical ritual of the tradition of worshipping Holy Mothers of the Viet).
Phu Day Temple is located in Kim Thai Commune, Vu Ban District, Nam Dinh Province. From Nam Dinh City, one can reach Phu Day by car for 15 km. One can also reach it by train. The station is two kms from the temple.
The temple is dedicated to Holy Mother Lieu Hanh who is one of four  immortal gods in the Vietnamese pantheon. The legend of Holy Mother Lieu Hanh is sung from one generation to another throughout the country, from the north to the south, from the delta regions to the mountainous areas of the country. It was believed that Phu Day was in the center of the homeland.
In the minds of Vietnamese people, the Hung kings are the ancestors, Holy Mother Lieu Hanh is the mother and General Tran Hung Dao is the father. The Vietnamese community is considered a family that has the same ancestors, father and mother.
Phu Day Festival is held every year from the 1st to the 10th day of the third lunar month, but the main day of the festival occurs on the 3rd. On the 6th day, people organize a procession that escorts “the Mother” from Tien Huong Temple to Goi Pagoda and a  festival in which people stand in the shape of Chinese Characters on the 7th day. Those are the most typical activities of the festival.
Marching in the van of the procession is a group of old women holding Buddhist pennons. They are followed by four teams of dragons, young men and women with eight weapons in their hands, a group of monks telling their beads.
Following the monks are seven palanquins. The Mother - the first’s palanquin is carried by eight girls in red costumes, Mother the second’s palanquin carried by eight girls in green costumes and Mother the third’s by eight girls in white costumes. A group of people carrying the belongings of the Holy Mother on their heads goes after the palanquins. The last are representatives and pilgrims. A Chinese character forming game that  held on the 7th day of the third month is a unique performance of the festival. Participants have to practice so that they can stand in ranks in such a way as to forge Chinese characters “Mau nghi thien ha” (A woman whose virtue makes her the mother of the nation), “Thien ha thai binh” (Peaceful World), when they hear the signal from the flag commander.
A unique cultural and religious activity at the Phu Day Festival is hat van and hau bong. This is a combination of music, singing, dancing and worshipping that is a typical ritual of Holy Mother Cult. During the festival, various games and entertainment activities are held such as tuong (classical opera), cheo (popular opera), xam singing performances, wrestling, tug of war, cockfighting and chess playing.
Phu Day Festival is also a market fair where people sell local products.
- Phuong Bong Communal House Festival
Time: The 15th day of the eleventh lunar month.
Place: Nam Dinh City, Nam Dinh Province.
Objects of worship: General Tran Quang Khai.
Characteristics: Worshipping, ritual dance, bai bong dance (also called bat dat dance performing by 64 people), lanterns dance, silk dance.
Time: 5th to the 7th day of the first lunar month.
Place: Phuong Dinh Commune, Truc Ninh District, Nam Dinh Province.
Objects of worship: The founding father of weaving village.
Characteristics: Weaving contest, cock fighting contest, Chinese chess, wrestling contest.
Time: 15th to the 20th day of the eighth lunar month.
Place: Loc Vuong Ward, Nam Dinh City, Nam Dinh Province.
Objects of worship: 14 Tran Kings.
Characteristics: Proclamation worshipping, procession, chèo singing, sword dance.
 The cluster monuments of Tran Temple is located in the surbub of Nam Dinh in a large area of more than 10 hecta with many communal houses, pagodas, temples, tombs, stone shrines which were errected at the place where the old palaces used to stand. Thien Truong Temples dedicated to the 14 Tran Kings. Co Trach Temple dedicated to Tran Hung Dao. Bao Loc Temple, tomb and statue of Tran Hung Dao are also belongs to this relic. Tran Temple Festival involves some rituals and cultural activities: proclamation worshipping, palanquin procession, cheo singing, van singing, bai bong dance, sword dance, and wrestling.
- Truc Chinh Communal House Festival
Time: 10th to the 15th day of the eighth lunar month.
Place: Truc Chinh Commune, Truc Ninh District, Nam Dinh Province.
Objects of worship: Trieu Quang Phuc.
Characteristics: Sacrifices-offering ceremony, preparing feast contest of 18 giap, banh giay making contest, fat pig feeding contest.
Time: 20th to the 30th day of the first lunar month.
Place: Nam Truc District, Nam Dinh Province.
Characteristics: The fair of flowers and ornamental plants. Contests of wrestle and running.
Time: 8th day of the first lunar month.
Place: Kim Thai Commune, Vu Ban District and Nam Giang Town, Nam Truc District, Nam Dinh Province.
Characteristics: Opens only one in a year, selling and buying things for lucky.
- Vieng Market Festival (Vu Ban  District): display goods for sale and buy such as handicraft products, antiquities and false antiquities, utensils, tools for agriculture production, and many kinds of ornamental plants. Specialities are barbecued beef and giay cake.
- Vieng Festival in Chua Market (Nam Truc District): opens according to the custom of giving a feast to the troops after the victory of King Quang Trung in the spring of Ky Dau year (1789). There are sacrifies - offering ceremony and a procession of god.
(Source: Vietnam National Administration of Tourism) |
