Tay Nang Lady Temple

In the past, on Lan Mountain – a beautiful mountain shaped like a unicorn standing alone in the fields of Phuong Cach Commune, Quoc Oai District, Hanoi City (now Phuong Cach 3 Hamlet, Quoc Oai Commune) – there was an ancient temple dedicated to Lady Tay Nang, who is said to have been the first person to teach the local people the craft of mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing, which became a famous traditional craft of Ha Tay, the “land of silk.”

Lady Tay Nang was the one who discovered a type of wild silkworm that ate a wild leaf growing abundantly at the foot of Lan Mountain. That worm spun very beautiful, very durable, gleaming golden silk threads to make its cocoon, crawled inside, and transformed into a butterfly; after becoming a butterfly, it bit through the cocoon and flew out. She taught the people to raise that worm and brought the wild plant home to cultivate for leaves to feed the worms. When the worms made cocoons of silk, she collected them and brought them back to reel silk and weave cloth… That worm was called the silkworm, and that wild plant was called the mulberry tree. From Lan Mountain, the craft of mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing quickly spread throughout the region. At first it was in areas along the Day River, then it spread throughout the Doai region and became the “land of silk” with famous silk-weaving centers such as Van Phuc, Co Do… Ha Tay silk soon became famous nationwide and was chosen as silk for tribute to the king. To this day, Ha Tay silk is favored by friends from all over the world. To commemorate Lady Tay Nang, the people honored her as the Lady of the mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing craft and built a temple to worship her on Lan Mountain.

In response to the aspirations of the broad masses of the people, on March 17, 2005, Mr. Dao Van Binh, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of the former Ha Tay Province, signed Document No. 748/CV/UB to the Committee for Ethnic and Religious Affairs and the People's Committee of Quoc Oai District, agreeing for the Elderly Association and the people of Phuong Cach Commune to establish a place of worship for Lady Tay Nang. The temple was built right at the foot of the mountain to facilitate incense offering and ceremonies on major holidays such as Ha Dien Tang (the 30th day of the 10th lunar month) or the traditional Tet, village festivals, etc. The statue of the Lady is carved from stone, seated peacefully under the shade of green trees, with her back against a large rock like a city wall, looking out toward the highway that sparkles with electric lights at night.