Quán Trung

Quán Trung is located at the entrance of Bột Xuyên village, Phúc Sơn commune, Hà Nội city, and is a historical-cultural relic closely associated with the religious life and community cultural activities of local people. According to field survey documents and accounts of elderly villagers, Quán Trung is a place of worship for Đức Tản Viên Sơn Thánh – one of the “Four Immortals” of Vietnamese folk belief, a deity revered and remembered by the people for his merits in helping the people and the country. The relic is identified as having been formed long ago; remaining architectural traces and artifacts show that the structure bears Nguyễn dynasty artistic style. During its existence, Quán Trung has undergone many repairs; in particular, because it was devastated during the resistance wars against France and the United States, only some components of the ancient structure remained, after which it was restored by local people, including the front worship hall repaired in 2007. Currently, Quán Trung consists of a front worship hall and courtyard/garden, in which the front worship hall has a “Nhất” character layout, one bay with two side bays, one storey with four curved roofs, roofed with local tiles, with dragon motifs on the ridge and roof corners; the worship space still preserves a number of valuable relics and artifacts such as a Thổ Hà ceramic incense burner, a Thành hoàng statue in Nguyễn dynasty style, and other worship objects. Annually, religious activities and traditional festivals of Bột Xuyên village take place at the relic; the festival is held on the 12th day of the 2nd lunar month every three years, an occasion to commemorate the Thành hoàng and also create space for exchange, community bonding, and transmission of traditional cultural values. With its historical, cultural, religious, artistic-architectural values and the system of preserved artifacts, Quán Trung has important significance in the spiritual life of Bột Xuyên people, contributing to preserving traditional cultural identity and enriching the cultural heritage system of Phúc Sơn commune.