Xuan Do Ha Communal House

Xuan Do Ha Communal House currently belongs to Xuan Do Ha Residential Group, Long Bien Ward. During the Nguyen dynasty, Xuan Do belonged to Cu Linh Canton, Gia Lam District, Bac Ninh Province; since 1961 it has been part of Hanoi. Xuan Do was originally alluvial land of the Red River, with the vernacular name Dau Ha.

Xuan Do Ha Communal House was built at the center of the village, about 10 km from the center of Hanoi. Xuan Do is an ancient village with a long history of existence and development; through memories and surviving sources such as deity genealogies, royal edicts, horizontal plaques, couplets, and steles, it is known that Xuan Do Ha Communal House worships the goddess Princess Lau Ly Nuong and Khoa Ba Son, a famous figure in the Hai Ba Trung uprising. The deity's background and merits were recorded in considerable detail by Dong Cac Grand Scholar Nguyen Binh in the communal house's deity genealogy.

Xuan Do Ha Communal House originated as a shrine to a deity, located on a high, spacious, and airy plot facing south, with many structures: in front is a large pond; beyond a small brick path is a beautiful well; beside it is a shrine to the Two Holy Ladies; inside is the communal house area, a closed continuous architectural complex comprising many horizontal and vertical buildings. Outside is the communal house gate; inside the courtyard is the main architectural area built on a foundation 80 cm above the courtyard surface. The first building is the three-bay Dai Bai hall, with a roof in the kiem ha dao style, the ridge decorated with a dragon facing the moon, covered with local tiles, and large rectangular openings in the front; the inside and two side sections connect with the Tan Noi building and the two Giai Vu corridors on either side. The plan has four rows of column bases, and the two central roof trusses are made in the 'upper beam, lower bracket' style.

Through the ups and downs of national history, Xuan Do Ha Communal House has preserved a collection of cultural artifacts of historical and artistic value from many different periods, most notably the Han-character deity genealogy and 21 royal edicts conferring titles on deities from the Le, Tay Son, and Nguyen dynasties. The earliest edict dates to the first year of Canh Hung (1787), and the latest to the second year of Bao Dai (1927); there are two steles, including one dated to Vinh To (1614-1628) placed on the back of a stone turtle, recording repairs to the communal house; in addition, there are many other artistic values such as five dragon thrones, gilded dragon-carved tablets, one altar couch decorated with a tiger symbol, one bat cong palanquin, one long dinh palanquin, one ornamental hanging door, and ten pairs of gilded lacquered couplets.

The above values of the relic affirm that Xuan Do Ha Communal House is a precious heritage that should be respected, protected, and promoted. Xuan Do Ha Communal House was ranked as a historical and cultural relic in 1994 by the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism).