Lam Kinh, which means Blue Capital, was named after the surrounding Lam Son (Blue Mountains). During the 15th century, Lam Son was a base for the insurrection that led by the national hero Le Loi, who defeated Chinese Ming invaders, brought independence to Viet people and later became the first king of the Le Dynasty with name of Le Thai To.

Construction on Lam Kinh began in 1433, right after the death of King Le Thai To. Building a second capital, with monuments and mausoleums in Lam Son strengthened the loyalty of the people to the King and the reigning family.

The citadel-palace Lam Kinh was built in a region with beautiful landscapes. Historically, Lam Kinh citadel was constructed strongly and beautifully; there were Ngo Mon gate, San Rong (court in front of the royal palace), tigers and elephants made of stones, the main palace, the temple and many more architectural projects: right house, left house, king’s temple.

However, wars and time have destroyed most of the magnificent architectures of Lam Kinh. Almost things have changed and some deserted but greenery is plentiful and most typical to see is a banyan and Chinese fig-tree, the roots of the banyan climb round a fig-tree. On the left is Vinh Lang stele-house. The house was rebuilt but the tortoise to support the stele, sculptured of sedimentary rocks, the black shell of the animal is over 500 years old. The stele is 2.79m high, 1.94m wide and 0.27m thick, made of Thanh stone, carved in with “luong long chau nguyet” or two dragons wait for the moon, with flower decoration on both sides. Vinh Lang stele is really a master piece, very precious in Vietnam’s earlier Le dynasty cultural heritage, a contribution to national identities.

Besides the stele-house, visitor will have chance to visit temples dedicated to King Le Thai To, tombs of King Le Thanh Tong, Le Hien Tong and the ancient citadel Lam Kinh.

Visitors will be really surprised to see a modest lifestyle of the great king’s tomb. It’s situated on a large ground shadowed by old trees. The tomb is square-shaped without decorative. Stone rodeo animals, stone attending mandarins are small but everything looks solemn and lofty.

Lam Kinh relic is protected and upgraded by the state and the locals. Archaeologists have found valuable documents in order to rebuild the palace.

Five kilometers from Lam Kinh is a temple where local people worship Le Lai, a courageous general and national hero who sacrificed himself to save Le Loi. All these places are attractive historical sites for tourists.

In the past, every three years, on the King Le Thai To’s death anniversary on the 22nd day of the eighth lunar month, the Le Kings and other mandarins from Dong Kinh (Thang Long - Ha Noi) came here to carry out the ritual. Besides, the local residents hold an annual festival to commemorate the hero at this temple.

Today, as in its glorious past, Lam Kinh is a beautiful, quiet place to visit and reflect on life. Many religious and symbolic ceremonies are still held at Lam Kinh, a place with much historic significance. The festival has been held annually to commemorate Le Loi for his service to the country and his policy of using benevolence and righteousness to defeat cruelty.

In Lam Kinh Festival, besides the sacrifices-offering ceremony, incense offering rite and other rituals like in many other festivals throughout the country, there are ly lien (or ri ren) singing and dances and other performances as bronze drums, cheo (traditional drama) and cai luong (reformed drama).

Many couples of young boys and girls, hand in hand, dance and sing and perform the game “planting flowers” and “plaiting flowers.” Later, these performances are replaced by the ca cong and hue tinh singings and the performances of some stories of Binh Ngo pha tran and Chu hau lai trieu.

At the festival, performers re-enact important historical events, such as the ceremony of Le Loi and his soldiers expressing their faith in the country, the battles of Le Loi and his coronation.

The festival also launches various other activities such as martial arts and wrestling competitions as well as exhibitions on fine arts and Le dynasty antiques.

Not only the Kinh (Viet) people but also other ethnic groups in Thanh Hoa Province attend the festival. On this occasion, some people also bring and sell a lot of their forest and native products (bee’s honey, aloe wood, cinnamon, mushroom, herbs, etc.) to form a bustling market with stalls featuring traditions and regional cuisine.

During the festival, tourists will have a chance to join folk games, enjoy local music and tradition so they will more understand and love this historical place. This year, the festival will take place on October 10th, 2009.

                                                                   Phuong Anh (Collected)