Trang An, historical and cultural landscape in Ninh Binh

The Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex is a treasure trove of information on human adaptation to changing environmental conditions that have undergone some of the most extreme geographical and climatic changes in Earth's recent history, particularly those that occurred at the end of and immediately following the last ice age.

Photo: dulichninhbinh.com.vn

Having lived in Ninh Binh for many years, I have visited Trang An many times and each time I was overwhelmed by the majestic beauty of the scenic area. However, it was only when I met Mr. Nguyen Duc Long, Director of the Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex Management Board, that I understood the cultural and historical values ​​of Trang An. “The entire landscape is a series of limestone towers and cone-shaped mountains surrounded by 200m high cliffs. They are connected in many places by sharp mountain ridges that encompass deep sinkholes and flooded valleys, connected by countless streams and underground caves, some of which can be accessed by boat,” said Director Long. Visitors traveling on traditional boats can experience the close connection with the environment and enjoy the peaceful feeling of the scenic area. The majestic mountains, mysterious caves, tranquil rivers and many sacred pagodas of Trang An have inspired many generations to come to this land. Located in Ninh Binh province, on the southern edge of the Red River Delta, about 90km southeast of Hanoi, the Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex is a blend of nature and culture, containing three protected areas: the ancient capital of Hoa Lu, the Trang An - Tam Coc - Bich Dong Scenic Landscape Complex, both recognized as special national monuments, including the Hoa Lu special-use primeval forest. The Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex covers an area of ​​about 6,172 hectares in limestone and is surrounded by a buffer zone of 6,268 hectares, consisting mostly of rice fields. There are about 26,283 people in the Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex, most of whom are farming families. Most of the uninhabited "core" area of ​​the scenic landscape remains in a natural state, with no harmful impacts on the cultural values ​​and natural landscape from human activities. The boat passes through the Dark Cave, a narrow cave with cold water flowing through. The stalactites hanging down are mesmerizingly beautiful. “This is the longest cave, about 200m long with many chi-shaped stone passages, if you are not familiar with the terrain, you cannot go there,” added Nguyen Cao Tan, Deputy Director of the Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex Management Board. Following geological traces, domestic and international scientists commented that Trang An is special in that for tens of thousands of years, the sea has encroached on it, transformed it many times and raised it to become land. The development of the terrain over a long period of time has created an extraordinarily beautiful landscape, which is a mixture of tower-shaped mountains with steep cliffs in the primeval tropical forest, surrounding the valley, creating a large, deep valley containing clear and quiet water connected to many caves and underground rivers and streams that can be navigated by boat. Trang An has transformed from a land landscape to a sea landscape several times. At times, Trang An was an archipelago in the middle of the ocean. The entire terrestrial environment is affected by climate and sea level changes with lowland riverine, swamp, estuarine and coastal environmental conditions. Forests vary in structure and composition from primary closed-canopy rainforest to seasonal dry forest, with temperate forests and grasslands during the cool climate period. Humans may have visited the limestone area seasonally to find important food - land snails. Archaeological findings provide important information about the ancient Trang An environment more than 5,500 years ago. Trang An is one of the few valuable heritages in Southeast Asia that retains many of its original features without being greatly influenced by humans, animals and other factors in later times. Trang An Scenic Area has a reasonable area and scope to fully contain outstanding natural and cultural values. The area's boundaries are mainly based on natural features, encompassing the entire limestone massif with all the classical landscapes and related geomorphological processes that show the geological evolution of the karst tower landscape in detail. This area contains all caves of archaeological significance. A large buffer zone surrounds the entire core zone, protecting the core zone from external destruction or unwanted impacts. The buffer zone includes a number of small villages, mainly fields and gardens of local people, many rivers are used for fishing and shrimp farming. Apart from the ancient capital of Hoa Lu and the Tam Coc - Bich Dong tourist area, up to now, the Trang An scenic area is still wild and little known. The Trang An scenic area together with the Hoa Lu endemic primeval forest are still pristine, until about 10 years ago, they were comprehensively assessed and identified as a conservation and sustainable use area. The outstanding cultural values ​​of Trang An are mainly based on the results of geological surveys and analysis of soil and rock samples. Surveys, research and archaeological excavations have been carried out since 2007 by experts from the University of Cambridge and recently by the Vietnam Institute of Archaeology. Archaeological resources have been found in many caves throughout the scenic area at different altitudes. The cave system and relics are still in their original state, undisturbed - - a rare thing in the Southeast Asian region. Archaeological evidence consists mainly of snail shells, clam shells, animal bones, pottery, stone tools, kitchen floors, rope-patterned pottery and a few human remains. In addition to cultural information, the site also provides many messages about the ancient environment, based on traditional approaches such as pollen spore analysis, analysis of macro-plant remains (seeds and other plant tissues), zooarchaeology, geomorphology (for example in identifying ancient coastlines) with the support of new advanced techniques, including geochemical analysis of carbon and lipid isotopes, mollusk shell oxygen isotopes and the use of LiDAR (Light Ranging and Ranging) methods. "The entire Trang An scenic area and many other tourist attractions in Ninh Binh province are under the management of the Provincial People's Committee", said Nguyen Duc Long, Director of the Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex Management Board. The ancient capital of Hoa Lu was ranked as a national historical relic in 1962. In 2003, the Government approved a master plan for the conservation, restoration and promotion of cultural values ​​for the heritage. The title of National Monument was awarded to Tam Coc - Bich Dong area in 1994, and the entire Trang An area in 2011. The ancient capital of Hoa Lu and the Trang An - Tam Coc - Bich Dong scenic area became a special national heritage in 2012. Part of the area of ​​Hoa Lu, Gia Vien, Nho Quan districts, Tam Diep town, and Ninh Binh city was made into a special-use Hoa Lu primeval forest for the purpose of biodiversity conservation and environmental protection. The Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex Management Board is responsible for managing the heritage site and operating according to the overall management plan, while providing professional training and tourism services to boatmen. Notably, the Management Board was assigned by the Ninh Binh Provincial People's Committee to carry out a number of infrastructure construction projects for the Trang An - Bai Dinh scenic area and many other relics. Specifically, the inspection and acceptance of the Bai Dinh Lake dredging packages with a total investment of 86.5 billion VND, construction of the Bai Dinh - Tran Temple road, nearly 20 billion VND, construction of the road traffic route, 30 billion VND, dredging of the Bich Dong - But Cave and Thach Bich - Thung Nang waterway traffic routes, the tree-lined road project to the Thung Nham tourist area, restoration and embellishment of Dinh Cac, the restoration of the Dinh Tien Hoang Emperor - King Le Dai Hanh temple relic site and the memorial stele of King Ly Thai To, the restoration project of the Le Dai Hanh tomb relic site, the establishment of a dossier for the construction of parking and service infrastructure... with a total state investment of nearly three thousand billion VND. With its outstanding historical and cultural values, Trang An scenic area will forever be the pride of the people of Ninh Binh.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/trang-an-danh-thang-lich-su-va-van-hoa-o-ninh-binh-post199665.html