Giap Tu Communal House

Giap Tu Communal House is a long-standing cultural and religious space closely associated with the Thinh Liet residential community. According to the elders' oral tradition, the communal house was built during the Le Dynasty. Through time and war, many of its relics were lost, but the site still preserves distinctive historical, cultural, and religious values.

The communal house worships Tam Lang Thong Dat Great King and the Five Great Kings, who are deities revered by the people and remembered for protecting the village. The Five Great Kings include Phuc Te, Hien Liet, Uy Linh, Thien Khanh, and Bao Tin Great King, said to have helped Emperor Ly Nam De repel the Liang army. The communal house still preserves many relics such as altar shrines, incense tables, thrones, large horizontal plaques, couplets, a set of ceremonial weapons, ornamental curtains, and 03 replica royal edicts from the Nguyen Dynasty, dating to Tu Duc 10 (1857), Duy Tan (1909), and Khai Dinh (1924).

Every year, Giap Tu Communal House Festival is held in the second lunar month. Activities include cleaning the ritual objects, cleaning the relic site, organizing cultural performances, carrying votive offerings (gold and silver trees) in procession from the communal house to Tong Thinh Liet shrine, offering sacrifices to the Deities, and folk games such as tug-of-war, pot smashing, and table tennis.

The festival is an occasion for the people to remember the merits of the village tutelary deities, while maintaining traditional customs and beliefs and strengthening community cohesion. Through this, Giap Tu Communal House continues to promote its role as a space for cultural and religious activities of the local people.