(HBO) – After restoration, Hang (Cave) Pagoda in Yen Tri commune of Hoa Binh province’s Yen Thuy district still has the unique architectural features of a pagoda in a cave maintained while the landscape improved.
The special feature of the Hang Pagoda in Yen Tri
commune (Yen Thuy district) is that its entire space of worship is located
inside a cave.
Hang Pagoda is the common name of a Buddhist
temple built in Hang Chua (Pagoda Cave), also known as Van Quang Cave. In the
past, it has the courtesy name of Thanh Lam Tu.
The pagoda and the cave accommodating it are
about 85km to the south of the centre of Hoa Binh city, 5km away from Hang Tram
town, and 13km from Nho Quan town of neighbouring Ninh Binh province.
The cave was named Hang Chua (Pagoda Cave) since
two of the four caverns in the mountain house pagodas. The caverns are
decorated with not only the temples’ architecture but also poems and texts
engraved on their stone walls.
Archaeologists also discovered traces of the Hoa
Binh civilisation in Hang Chua such as food vestiges like snail and clam shells
and tool fragments.
Not only the architectural features but the
landscape full of greenery here also makes this place special.
In 1994, the site of Hang Pagoda and Chua Cave
was recognised as a national historical and cultural relic site by the Ministry
of Culture. Since then, the Hang Pagoda festival has been organised at the
beginning of every year, offering an occasion for visitors to admire the unique
pagoda landscape, pray for wealth, and join locals in folk cultural activities.
In 2020, some of the site’s facilities were restored
and built so as to help preserve and bring into play the site’s value./.
As a land deeply intertwined with human history and Vietnam’s millennia-long journey of nation-building and defence, Hoa Binh is often revered for its epic tales and legends.
Residents of Hoa Binh boast a rich cultural identity, reflected in their unique language, traditional attire, customs, and folk melodies – described as "sweet as honey, clear as a mountain stream.”
Lac Son district’s Vu ban town held the 2025 Truong Kha temple festival on April 12–13 (the 15th–16th days of the third lunar month). Since its revival in 2019, the festival has been organised every three years, preserving valuable intangible heritage while meeting the community’s cultural and spiritual needs.
The clothing of women reflects the culture of the Muong, Thai, Tay, Dao, and Mong ethnic groups in the northern province of Hoa Binh.
Gongs hold a special place in the cultural and spiritual life of the Muong ethnic people in Hoa Binh province. More than musical instruments, they are an indispensable part of community rituals and collective memory, echoing through generations as a spiritual thread linking the past, present, and future.
Preserving and promoting the cultural values of the Muong ethnic group has become an urgent task in the current context, as many traditional values face the risk of fading away. This effort requires not only protecting the cultural identity but also eliminating outdated customs and developing a modern cultural lifestyle, contributing to sustainable values for the Muong community in Hoa Binh province.
The Muong ethnic culture, deeply rooted in Vietnam’s mountainous north, continues to be preserved and revitalised by dedicated individuals and communities determined to safeguard their ancestral identity.
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