Visitors experience the unique activity of calling pigeons to the Thang Tam village communal house.
This centuries-old heritage has now become a driving force and resource in the process of defining identity and developing cultural tourism .
The beauty of the village communal house.
On the weekend, a tour bus carrying over 50 passengers stopped in front of the Thang Tam communal temple (Vung Tau ward, Ho Chi Minh City). In front of the temple courtyard, tourists enthusiastically filmed and photographed the ancient architecture of the old temple; another group scattered seeds to attract birds, filling the courtyard. Inside, some tourists quietly followed the tour guide, visiting, paying respects, and listening to explanations about the temple's relics and festivals.
The Thang Tam communal temple is situated in a location considered auspicious for building mountains and gathering water, and was constructed in 1820. Initially, the temple was made of bamboo and leaves, but in 1835, the local people contributed to its renovation and roofing with tiles. In 1965, the temple was restored and rebuilt to its current state, retaining its original architectural layout. The temple is dedicated to three individuals who contributed to the founding of three villages in Vung Tau: Pham Van Dinh, Le Van Loc, and Ngo Van Huyen.
The temple has a continuous architectural structure consisting of four buildings connected by a side walkway: the ancestral hall, the assembly hall, the central hall, and the martial arts performance stage. Inside, the temple is decorated with many exquisitely carved and gilded ceremonial objects. The ancestral hall is roofed with yin-yang tiles, and the roof features a raised relief of "two dragons worshipping the moon." The ends of the rafters, purlins, and columns are all carved with dragon figures.
Traditional village festivals have become unique tourism products.
The Thang Nhi communal house, located near the river mouth and Ben Dinh market, is also a communal house with long-standing cultural and historical value. Mr. Mai Van Ba (residing at 36/2 Ngu Phu Street, Vung Tau Ward, Ho Chi Minh City) said that he was born and raised in Thang Nhi and has witnessed many changes in this area.
“Today, the streets of Thang Nhi have been widened and paved, becoming a bustling commercial center, and the lives of the people have improved. However, the Thang Nhi communal house still commemorates the contributions of those who pioneered the land and established the village, embodying the spirit of 'proximity to the market and proximity to the river'," Mr. Ba recounted.
Long Huong communal temple is one of the oldest village temples, over 200 years old, located near the Dinh River (Long Huong ward, Ho Chi Minh City). According to many elders of Long Huong commune, the Long Huong communal temple was built in 1850. During the nine years of resistance against French colonialism, the Long Huong communal temple served as a shelter and hiding place for revolutionary cadres; the temple grounds, with their many tall, ancient trees, were used by the guerrilla forces as guard posts to observe the enemy from various directions, creating favorable conditions for cadres to establish revolutionary bases.
The unique cultural, historical, and architectural value of the village communal house is what attracts tourists.
Analyzing the architecture of village communal houses, architect Nguyen Duc Lap - Chairman of the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Architects Association - said that the communal houses in the eastern part of Ho Chi Minh City are a complex of many square buildings with four main pillars, or long buildings with three bays and two wings. The communal house is usually built on high, dry mounds of land, in a beautiful location, near markets, and with convenient transportation.
The temple has a four-pillar, traditional house structure, extending outwards in four directions with evenly spaced, square-shaped rafters and purlins. The roof is covered with yin-yang tiles, and the ridge is often adorned with glazed ceramic figures depicting themes such as: two dragons fighting over a pearl, a phoenix holding a scroll, a mother lion teaching her cub, a fish transforming into a dragon, etc.
According to Mr. Pham Chi Than, former Director of the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Museum, in the eastern part of Ho Chi Minh City, the communal houses of fishing villages are often built next to temples, pagodas, shrines, and markets, forming an economic, cultural, and religious center of the village. These centers serve as meeting places for village affairs, places of worship for the tutelary deity, nature deities, human deities, historical figures, and ancestors who contributed to the village and the nation.
"Therefore, the communal house becomes the center of communal feelings, where villagers' emotions related to the past, present, and future are nurtured and expressed. Over time, these communal houses along the river and near the market have survived as an enduring cultural beauty, becoming attractive destinations for tourists," Mr. Than said.
Tourism connection
The system of 15 traditional village communal houses and ancient pagodas, representative of Vietnamese folk art and festivals, reflecting the unique cultural and religious identity of the Vietnamese people, currently existing in the eastern part of Ho Chi Minh City, is a beautiful cultural feature that is attracting attention for tourism development.
Mr. Pham Ngoc Hai, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association, believes that with their diverse architecture and styles, ancient village communal houses can serve as a bridge between past and present cultures. These communal houses were once gathering places for communities, but they are also an integral part of the spiritual life of people today. Therefore, in recent years, tourism and travel agencies have collaborated to allow visitors to coastal communes and wards of Ho Chi Minh City to admire the exquisite features of these ancient communal houses and Vietnamese villages.
Panoramic view of the village communal house.
From a local perspective, Mr. Vu Hong Thuan, Chairman of the People's Committee of Vung Tau Ward, also stated: "Besides modern tourism products such as beach activities, sports, and entertainment, incorporating the traditional beauty of village communal houses into tourism development is a priority for the locality. Especially in recent years, festivals at village communal houses, such as the Nghinh Ong Thang Tam festival, have been developed into unique tourism products that both promote national intangible cultural heritage and attract domestic and international tourists. As a result, the number of tourists visiting Vung Tau has consistently increased year after year."
Nghinh Ong Festival
However, harnessing the heritage value of village communal houses for tourism development remains a challenging task, requiring innovative approaches and the joint efforts of the community, government, and businesses.
According to Mr. Le Hong Tu, Director of BT Tour Community Tourism and Event Organization Company Limited, for village communal houses to become attractive tourist destinations, the infrastructure and services must first be improved comprehensively. In particular, the involvement of local authorities and the community in renovating and preserving the landscape, maintaining environmental hygiene, and organizing tourism training for local people is crucial.
In addition, we will coordinate and connect with travel businesses to develop products and design tours and routes with destinations that include traditional village communal houses...
In the long term, appropriate mechanisms and policies are needed to encourage the community to work together to protect and promote village communal house heritage, turning it into a branded cultural tourism product.
Phu My
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Source: https://nhandan.vn/dinh-lang-vao-tour-du-lich-post927430.html
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