Preserving and promoting values of “Hành Cung Vũ Lâm” historical relic site in Ninh Binh
Therefore, preserving and restoring the relics of “Hành Cung Vũ Lâm” associated with the development of green, environmentally friendly tourism infrastructure will contribute to attracting domestic and foreign tourists, while creating momentum for local economic development.
Role in the flow of history
“Hành Cung Vũ Lâm” is a military base of the Tran Dynasty located in the core area of Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex, Hoa Lu city.
In the 13th century, under the Tran Dynasty, the Tran Kings chose the mountainous area of Trang An (Hoa Lu today) to build a military base, train soldiers, and store food to fight against the Yuan-Mongol army.
After the war ended, the Tran Kings founded the Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen sect, creating the foundation for Vietnamese Buddhism during the Tran Dynasty.
King Tran Thai Tong also built a number of monasteries, which are still preserved today, such as So Pagoda, Thong Pagoda, Kha Luong Pagoda, Khai Phuc Pagoda in Ninh Hai commune, Hoa Lu city. In just a short time, Truong Yen land became a Buddhist centre of the Tran Dynasty.
After that, the Tran Kings and local people continued to build monasteries outside the palace, where there were beautiful landscapes, such as Non Nuoc, Dong Son, Canh Dieu, Dich Long mountains.
Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Quy, at the Institute of Archaeology under the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, said that recent research and archaeological results have confirmed that “Hành Cung Vũ Lâm” has its own unique historical and cultural values, completely different from the remaining Tran Dynasty relics in the North of the country. This place does not have monumental relics such as Thien Truong Palace (Nam Dinh) or Lo Giang Palace (Thai Binh), but only bamboo and wood architectural works, blending with nature. However, this place has its own unique geopolitical - historical - religious - cultural values that cannot be found anywhere else.
Preservation and development
“Hành Cung Vũ Lâm” is located on a fairly large area, including many historical relics such as Quan Gate, Palace, Dragon Sluice, Tuan Cao, Kho Garden or many ancient pagodas that have existed since the Tran Dynasty until now such as Hai Nham, Bich Dong, Linh Coc, Khe Ha, Phuc Hung...
“Hành Cung Vũ Lâm” is a sacred land, with talented people, a solid base of the army and people of the Tran Dynasty. However, currently, there are very few remaining relics, many traces are still hidden deep underground. Therefore, scientific research, reconstruction, and restoration of the “Hành Cung Vũ Lâm” heritage are extremely necessary to help enrich the heritage value.
Vice Chairman of the Ninh Binh Provincial People's Committee Tran Song Tung emphasised that the combination of research and identification to clarify the historical values of “Hành Cung Vũ Lâm” contributes to the preservation and restoration of its relics in conjunction with the development of green, environmentally friendly tourism infrastructure.
Prof., Doctor of Science Vu Minh Giang, Chairman of the Science and Training Council of Tran Nhan Tong Institute under the Vietnam National University, Hanoi emphasised that “Hành Cung Vũ Lâm” during the Tran Dynasty was a priceless and endless cultural resource that needs to be exploited and transformed into valuable cultural and tourism products, serving the development of the cultural industry in Ninh Binh.
He also said that in the coming time, Ninh Binh needs to build a dossier to rank relics, orient long-term conservation, and promote the value of “Hành Cung Vũ Lâm”.
At the same time, the province needs to develop specific cultural tourism products, such as meditation tourism, tourism to experience Tran Dynasty relics, and programmes to recreate historical and cultural spaces, contributing to attracting tourists and raising public awareness of “Hành Cung Vũ Lâm” in particular and the Tran Dynasty in general.
It can be seen that the value and potential of “Hành Cung Vũ Lâm” as well as Hoa Lu and Trang An in terms of landscape and heritage are enormous. Continuing to conduct research, as a basis for proposing planning, development, and exploitation of the value of “Hành Cung Vũ Lâm” and Trang An Heritage Area will contribute to ensuring a worthy, harmonious, and sustainable development; thereby realizing the goal of turning Ninh Binh into a millennium heritage city.
