Garden civilization - Vietnam.vn

The Tien River and its tributaries play an extremely important role in the formation and development of the land and people of the Southwestern region of Vietnam, with history and culture being the two pillars that have made this land prosperous as it is today.

In the Mekong Delta region in general, we often hear the concept of "Garden Civilization." It's relatively difficult to explain this phrase in detail.

However, this concept encompasses a range of images, habits, and cultural aspects of life in the Mekong Delta, most notably in the provinces along the Tien River.

Nowadays, when traveling to Tien Giang or Vinh Long, tourists can still discover many old houses and architectural structures from the French colonial period or earlier. These are often combined with traditional Vietnamese music genres such as don ca tai tu, vong co, or cai luong.

That is one of the cultural features of the garden civilization. Or the image of bustling boats and canoes carrying fruit from the orchards to the market, the characteristic floating markets, especially the crowded markets during the days leading up to Tet (Lunar New Year)...

All of this will create the lifestyle and cultural landscape of the orchard region, as depicted in many of the scholarly works of writer Son Nam.

Along the Tien River, Tien Giang and Ben Tre are also famous for many heroic historical sites. During our trip, we also made sure to visit major landmarks that commemorated significant wars of national defense, such as Rach Gam – Xoai Mut; or the birthplaces of illustrious generals and fervent patriots like Truong Cong Dinh and Thu Khoa Huan…

The most special place is Go Cong, where the Tien River prepares to flow into the sea. This land of spiritual significance and outstanding people has produced two empresses of the Nguyen dynasty: Empress Tu Du and Empress Nam Phuong. Go Cong is also famous for its feng shui and has received much attention throughout many dynasties, from the time of the Nguyen Lords' reclamation of the South, because this strip of land is the end point of the majestic Truong Son mountain range. Beyond Go Cong lies the East Sea, and before Go Cong is the mountain range that shapes the nation, the backbone of the entire Vietnamese territory.

Heritage Magazine