Visiting "King Ngo Quyen's Headquarters" in Hai Phong

From Hai Phong city, take An Hai road along An Kim Hai canal under the rows of royal poinciana trees in full bloom, and you will reach Luong Xam temple. Luong Xam temple (Nam Hai ward, Hai An district, Hai Phong city, Vietnam) worships national hero Ngo Quyen and artifacts of the heroic battle on Bach Dang river. It is on the foundation of Luong Xam temple, which was formerly the headquarters of Ngo Quyen during the victory over the Southern Han army in 938.

The temple faces the Bach Dang River, with a large field in front, which used to be a training ground and military headquarters. Inside the temple grounds are thousands of years old kapok trees and ancient trees that provide shade. Around the temple are four Dragon Eye wells that soldiers used to dig for water for cooking and daily activities.

In 939, Ngo Quyen proclaimed himself king and established the Ngo Dynasty, ending more than 1,000 years of Chinese domination. Ngo Quyen was the first king of our country to proclaim himself king after regaining sovereignty from the feudalism of the North. To commemorate the merits and virtues of the former Ngo King, the Dinh, Le, Luong, and Nguyen dynasties and families issued royal decrees honoring him as "The Supremely Spiritual Great King", "The Son of Ngo King", "The Ancestor of Restoration" for independence and autonomy, and ordered the construction of the Luong Xam Temple, whose name is still engraved on the stele of the first king and first wife. It includes three main palaces:

1. The First (innermost chamber): worships the throne of His Majesty Ngo Quyen, the throne and the Forbidden Palace. The Forbidden Palace stores precious antiques and royal decrees of the dynasties. The Forbidden Palace is only opened on major holidays.

2. The Second Room (middle room): where the two parents of King Ngo Vuong are worshiped. On both sides of the Second Room, there are also two people who made great contributions to the Bach Dang victory, Ngo Tat To and Ngo Gia Luan (both from Gia Vien village, Hai Phong today). In the middle is the Kinh Thien house, where King Ngo Quyen's palanquin is gilded with red paint and gold, with a pair of golden parasols, very solemn and majestic. On both sides of the Kinh Thien house are two bridges, where officials and dignitaries sit and discuss. The bridge on the right has a wooden dragon boat, the bridge on the left displays three sharpened Bach Dang ironwood stakes, historical evidence that no visitor does not bow their heads in admiration. How can one not admire, just wooden stakes alone can keep the border peaceful and leave their names in history! As the parallel sentences on the couplets in the poem: Dang hai ba binh than uy danh luu Nam Quoc su/ Loa Thanh dinh thanh trieu huy chan dia thien thu. That's right, the Bach Dang victory shook the heavens and the earth, an eternal example for descendants to follow.

3. The Third (outermost room): the largest room where the altars are held. The most sophisticated architectural carvings are found in the Third. The upper columns (column heads and rafters) are all carved with the four sacred animals (dragon, unicorn, turtle, and phoenix), and the black wooden parallel sentences praise King Ngo Quyen and his historic victory in protecting the country. The doors are locked from the inside with wedges pulled on the door beams, which cannot help but surprise visitors. Visiting Luong Xam, we can learn about ancient construction and carvings, especially during the Le and Nguyen dynasties.

The special feature of the temple is the flags flying all year round, the two main colors of red and yellow inside the palaces create an ancient and solemn look. When asked why the large wooden pillars have marks of being cut, the head of the incense, Luong Van Mung, exclaimed that when he was a child, he often went to the temple to play, saw the rooms and toilets with ironwood floors from the outside to the inside, then the floors were completely removed, so this beam mark remained. Thanks to the careful care and cleaning of the festival committee, the interior of the temple is shiny. In 1880, King Tu Duc granted a decree to 17 communes to worship Ngo Quyen. Currently, there are 22 places to worship Ngo Quyen and Luong Xam temple is honored as the main temple. With its unique beauty, in 1986 Luong Xam temple was ranked as a national historical and architectural relic. The memorial to national hero Ngo Quyen, which was recently built next to the temple, is a new highlight.

Every year, Luong Xam village has three festivals on the lunar days of January 16-18 (the death anniversary, Ngo Quyen died on the 18th), March 12 (birthday) and the Bach Dang victory anniversary on August 14. If you visit Luong Xam village on festival days, it will be crowded with worshiping ceremonies, palanquin processions and folk games, but on normal days, visitors will be guided very enthusiastically by the head of the incense burner wearing a wooden outfit and a turban.

Visiting Luong Xam, we not only admire the unique ancient architecture of our ancestors, have the opportunity to review the glorious history of the nation, but also learn about the spiritual life of worshiping national heroes and preserving the precious traditional culture of Hai Phong people.

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