(HBO) - Doi Co Cua Chuong Temple in Hien Luong Commune (Da Bac) is a spiritual tourist destination in the tourism journey within Hoa Binh Lake. It is currently a tourist attraction attracting a lot of tourists inside and outside the province.
Doi Co Temple.
Doi Co Temple was established at Chuong port to worship the female retainers of Mrs. Dinh Thi Van, who had helped Le Loi King fight the enemy. The temple is located on the top of Bo hill in Mo hamlet, Hien Luong commune about 100 m far from the old Hai Co temple, facing the Southeast. The temple has an area of about 500 square meters, designed with 3 compartments and 2 wings, including Dai Bai and Hau Cung buildings with curved roof heads, 4 roof corners are covered with embossed phoenix, the banks of the top are covered with embossed dragons flanking moon, making of solid concrete.
The legend says that in 1431, Le Loi King took tens of thousands of troops along Da River to attack Deo Cat Han over this place. Ms. Dinh Thi Van - the daughter of Lang Muong with the two maids called for young men in the area to join hands, helping the army of Le Loi King to overcome Bo Falls to fight the enemy. The young men cut wood to make canoes, cut bamboo and great bamboo to make rafts to bring troops across the river, whole the women collected rice, and supplies for the army of Le Loi King.
With the help of the people around the region, the army led by Le Loi King defeated Deo Cat Han enemy in Muong Le (Son La). After winning the battle, he came back to Bo Falls and he asked his army to level and set up a camp to celebrate the victory. The King used a stone sword engraved a poem recording the victories of the Muong army and people. Currently, Le Loi memorial stele is stored in Hang Than hill, Vua Nua commune (Da Bac) and it has become a historical and spiritual tourist destination on Hoa Binh lake.
The joy of victory of the army was not complete, it was reported that the boat of Mrs. Dinh Thi Van and her two servants was sunk by heavy rain and strong wind on the way to come back. Le Loi King immediately issued the orders to the army and people along the two sides of the Da river to search, and if their bodies were found anywhere, they would be buried there, and a temple would be set up to pay their tribute at the same time. After a few days, the body of Mrs. Dinh Thi Van drifted into the waterfall forest (i.e the Bo waterfall), the people there buried and set up the temple of Mrs. Dinh Thi Van. Le Loi King presented Dinh Thi Van with the title of Lady of Bo Lord. The bodies of the two maids drifted to Ben Chuong, belonging to Hien Luong commune and were buried by the people and built a temple at Ben Chuong. With a sorrowful heart for the country at the full moon age, the King established a temple and awarded the title of the Doi Co Cua Chuong temple.
Every year from the 7th to the 9th of the first lunar month, the people here hold a festival to commemorate the merit of the Lady of Bo Lord and her two servant girls, praying for the good rain and harvest, the health of people, and happy and peaceful villages. After the ceremony, the festival is organized with a number of folk games such as: Dum singing, Xoe dancing, swinging and throwing cotton ball games... Currently, Doi Co Cua Chuong temple is the destination of the people in the region and tourists attending the festival, worshiping and sightseeing.
In the first 9 months of 2024, Hoa Binh province continues to implement the expanded tourism development cooperation program plan of 8 Northwest provinces with Ho Chi Minh City; deploying digital transformation content in tourism and developing a smart tourism province. Hoa Binh province received about 3.6 million views, an increase of 7.9% over the same period. In which, international visitors are about 380 visitors, domestic visitors are estimated at 3 million 220 visitors.
Spanning thousands of hectares and winding gracefully along mountain slopes, hillsides, and riverbanks, the terraced rice fields of Lac Son District present a stunning and captivating beauty. This region, renowned for its remarkable terraced landscapes, is also the centre of Hoa Binh Culture known for numerous archaeological sites.
The life of Mong people in Hang Kia and Pa Co communes of Mai Chau district has improved much thanks to tourism development.
The man-made Hoa Binh Lake, with a water surface area of approximately 9,000 hectares and a capacity of 9.45 billion cubic meters, stretches over 200 kilometers from Hoa Binh to Son La provinces. With the goal of developing into a national tourism area, the Hoa Binh Lake tourism area is expected to not only become the largest tourism centre in the province but also one of the 12 key tourist destinations in the northern midland and mountainous region of Vietnam.
Da Bia hamlet, now Duc Phong, in Tien Phong commune, Da Bac district, was once almost isolated from the outside as the only way to the hamlet was to get a boat ride across the Hoa Binh reservoir. However, as its tourism potential has been unleashed, the hamlet has established itself as one of the most attractive destinations on the tourism map. It has even received the ASEAN Community-Based Tourism Awards in 2019.
In the first 9 months of 2024, Mai Chau district, Hoa Binh province welcomed over 684 thousand visitors to visit and relax. In which, over 516 thousand domestic visitors and more than 168 thousand international visitors. Total revenue from tourism is estimated at over 821 billion VND.