Attention to restoration and embellishment of historical and cultural relics

Lai The Khanh Temple was renovated and embellished.

Lai The Khanh Temple is located in Quan Chiem village, Ha Giang commune (Ha Trung), a spiritual place for people inside and outside the district. According to some historical documents, Lai The Khanh was from Ha Duong commune (now Yen Duong commune). He was intelligent, brave, and good at martial arts, so he made many achievements and was highly regarded by King Le. In 1543, Trinh Kiem was appointed as the Grand Tutor Lang Quoc Cong, in charge of all military affairs, Lai The Khanh was a general of the governor's office. He marched three times to Son Nam town (south of Thang Long citadel) to follow Grand Tutor Trinh Kiem to fight the enemy, all of which made great achievements and were awarded the title of An Quan Cong. In addition, he also enjoyed the land granted by the king in Quan Chiem commune, Thuong Ban commune, Ha Trung prefecture (now Quan Chiem village, Ha Giang commune, Ha Trung district). In 1578, Lai The Khanh passed away. The king posthumously awarded him the title of Grand Chancellor Khiem Quoc Cong, with the posthumous name Cong Thuan. The 27th day of the 9th lunar month is his death anniversary. After Lai The Khanh passed away, the people built a temple to worship him in Quan Chiem village, Ha Giang commune to commemorate his contributions to the country.

Through the vicissitudes of history, the temple became a ruin to the regret of the people. In 2000, the descendants of the Lai family contributed and restored some items to have a place for people to burn incense on death anniversaries, holidays and Tet. In 2011, Lai The Khanh temple was ranked as a historical - cultural relic by Thanh Hoa province. In 2022, with the attention of the State and other legally mobilized sources, the temple was renovated and restored with items such as: four-pillar gate, shrine, model house roof, ceremony house... with a total investment of more than 5 billion VND. Currently, the temple is built spaciously, meeting the wishes of people inside and outside the commune.

In recent times, Ha Trung district has paid attention to the socialization of relic restoration and embellishment and achieved remarkable results. From 2020 to 2024, the district has mobilized more than 50 billion VND to restore and embellish relics such as: Suoi Palace, Tran Temple, Tran Pagoda, Lai The Khanh Temple, Thuong Phu Communal House, Phu Tho Communal House, Bai Say War Zone...

Vice Chairman of Ha Trung District People's Committee Hoang Van Long said: The work of renovating and restoring historical and cultural relics has been carried out by Ha Trung District with interest and achieved positive results. However, in the district, there are still many relics that are degraded and need to be restored and embellished. Therefore, the district continues to direct localities to strengthen education about the value of relics so that people know and are willing to contribute their efforts and money with the State to renovate and embellish the relics to become spacious and worthy of their inherent value.

According to statistics from the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Thanh Hoa has 1,535 relics inventoried and protected. In order to restore and embellish historical and cultural relics, the Provincial People's Committee has issued a plan to preserve, restore, and prevent degradation of historical and cultural relics in Thanh Hoa province in the period of 2022-2025. Accordingly, the province focuses resources on prioritizing the preservation, restoration, and embellishment of historical and cultural relics and revolutionary relics that are seriously degraded; investing in the restoration and embellishment of key relics to preserve, maintain, and honor the values of traditional cultural heritage, put them into exploitation and promote the values of relics associated with tourism development of localities.

From 2021 to present, the Provincial Party Committee and Provincial People's Committee have agreed and approved the investment policy for 192 projects to restore and embellish relics in the whole province, of which 36 projects have been completed, and 11 projects under implementation have been approved for final settlement; 70 new projects have started construction and are in the investment preparation stage... with a total investment of over 4,146 billion VND. After being restored and embellished, the relics have increasingly promoted their value, attracting a large number of people and tourists to visit, pray for blessings and peace, contributing to meeting the needs of religious and spiritual activities and promoting the land and people of Thanh Hoa.

In order to achieve positive results in the restoration and embellishment of historical and cultural relics, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism continues to implement medium-term public investment programs and plans for the period 2026-2030 with central and local capital sources and mobilize social resources to invest in the restoration, embellishment, and promotion of the value of historical and cultural relics and scenic spots in the province. Strengthen heritage education so that people understand and join hands with local authorities to preserve and promote the value of relics.

Article and photos: Xuan Nguyen

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/quan-tam-tu-bo-ton-tao-di-tich-lich-su-van-hoa-247560.htm