Hoang Xa Communal House

Hoang Xa Communal House is located in Du Nghe village, Quoc Oai Commune, Hanoi City. There are many routes to the Hoang Xa Communal House relic, but the most convenient and easiest are two directions: from the center of Hanoi City along Thang Long Avenue for about 20 km to the intersection toward Thay Pagoda - Hoang Xa Cave, turn left onto the crossing road and continue for about 1 km; or from Ha Dong via Thanh Quang dike to the area of the former Quoc Oai town, turn right to Du Nghe village and you will reach the relic.

Hoang Xa Communal House is a religious architectural work dedicated to General Lu Gia - Prime Minister of Nam Viet around 136-111 BC - as the village tutelary god. He held the political arena of Nam Viet in its final years and ultimately failed before the Han invasion. He is forever worshipped by the local people, and prayers to him are always efficacious.

According to the elders of the Du Nghe, Hoa Voi and Dinh To residential clusters, Hoang Xa Communal House was built during the Le dynasty. In the reign of King Tu Duc it was repaired and built with laterite bricks, consisting of 3 main architectural buildings: Dai Bai, Trung Cung and Hau Cung; in addition, there were Ta Huu Mac on both sides. The Dai Bai building was quite imposing with a structure of 3 bays and 2 wings with four curved roof corners, a system of folding doors, column bases placed on blue stone slabs, and the side bays and wing bays of the communal house were made with wooden floors. However, in 1948, due to the scorched-earth resistance policy, Dai Bai was dismantled; because the communal house had no caretaker, over time many of its ritual objects were lost. In 1971, the Trung Cung building was dismantled, leaving only Hau Cung. Therefore, the Hau Cung of Hoang Xa Communal House today dates from the Nguyen dynasty.

The current appearance of Hoang Xa Communal House was extensively restored in 1995. Seen from outside, the communal house is dignified and imposing in an open and spacious setting. It faces southeast. The architectural layout is in the shape of the Chinese character dinh, including: Nghi Mon, Dai Bai, Hau Cung, left and right compartments, courtyard, and garden. Through many historical ups and downs and resistance wars, the relic no longer preserves the architectural block from its initial construction. However, the current architectural items still resemble traditional architecture: the trusses are made of imitation-wood concrete, while the purlins and rafters are made of wood; the trusses of the Dai Bai building are made in the style of 'upper stacked beams, lower seated brackets, seven eaves' and are sturdy, with light and graceful decorative motifs.

The relics have cultural, historical, artistic and aesthetic value, such as: woodblocks, long thrones, altars, horizontal plaques, couplets, incense tables, etc., which are elaborately and skillfully crafted with traditional decorative themes such as 'four sacred animals, four precious plants', flowers and plants, etc., bearing the artistic style of the Nguyen dynasty.

Hoang Xa Communal House is one of the places for spiritual and cultural activities of the community of Du Nghe, Hoa Voi and Dinh To. In the past, two main festivals were held at the communal house on the 10th day of the 2nd lunar month (the god's transformation day) and the 6th day of the 4th lunar month (the god's birthday) to commemorate the merits of the village tutelary god. Today, the festival is held on the 9th and 10th days of the 2nd lunar month (a procession is organized every 5 years).