Dinh Nguyen Temple

Location: Dinh Nguyen Temple is located in Tay Son Village, Lien Minh Commune

Worshipped Figure: The temple worships Great King Nam Uyen. According to the deity genealogy, he was a talented general under King Hung Due Vuong and had the merit of defeating Thuc Phan's army to keep the realm's borders peaceful.

Formation process: Initially, he was worshipped in a shared temple at Chu Phan, but later, due to riverbank erosion, the temple was moved to Thanh Diem hamlet. In 1903 (under King Thanh Thai), a group of people migrated to the other side of the river (in Dan Phuong, where they established a settlement) and built a memorial temple to continue offering incense and maintain the tradition to this day.

2. Distinctive architectural and artistic features

Ceremonial gate: It was built in a pillar style, with four phoenixes facing each other on top, a tiger talisman base below, four dragon heads and four sacred creatures decoration; the body has raised Chinese-character couplets.

Great Ceremonial Hall: It consists of 5 bays and 2 side wings; the roof frame is made of wood in the style of 'Thượng giá chiêng, hạ kẻ ngồi, bảy hiên'. The components are smoothly planed, tightly joined, and carved with stylized leaves, bearing strong artistic style of the late Nguyen dynasty.

Rear sanctuary: Located behind the Main Hall, it has 3 bays with a two-tier altar base for arranging solemn ritual objects such as a dragon throne, ancestral tablets, a box for royal edicts, offering trays, and the five-vessel set.

3. Distinctive traditional festival

Time: The festival is held annually from the 12th to the 14th day of the first lunar month (the main festival day is the 13th, traditionally the day he passed away).

Unique rituals and offerings:

The festival begins with a bathing ritual, using pure rainwater filtered through red cloth.

Offerings on the 12th include: 1 chicken, 1 tray of sticky rice, 9 eggs, 9 persimmons, 9 sugarcane stalks peeled on four sides; especially in the evening there must be a tray of rice with soup and stir-fried beef. The offerings on the 13th are similar but without eggs.

Festival activities: The most prominent and attracting a large number of participants is the traditional wrestling tournament between villages, creating a martial, joyful atmosphere at the beginning of spring.

4. Relic ranking With its great historical and cultural values, Dinh Nguyen Temple was ranked as a provincial/city-level relic on February 4, 2003.