The “Great Wall” of central Vietnam tells a fascinating story of collaboration and ingenuity
Archaeologists study artifacts unearthed at a post on the rampart in the Chim Hut Pass area in the central province of Quang Ngai. (Photo by Hien Cu)
Archeologists surmise that it is an unusual work involving local indigenous H’re people, the Kinh ethnic group and Nguyen Dynasty soldiers.
After five years of excavation and study, it has been determined that the 200km-long rampart that runs from Quang Ngai to Binh Dinh provinces in central Vietnam is around 500 years old.
Researchers from the Vietnam Institute of Archaeology and the French School of the Far East in Hanoi say the historical relic runs along the Truong Son mountain range through eight districts of Quang Ngai before running into the districts of An Lao and Hoai Nhon in Binh Dinh, separating the plains and the highlands.
The longest and largest rampart in the country and the entire Southeast Asian region winds through mountains and valleys, sometimes at altitudes of nearly 800m, is 4-5m high and 6m wide at its base.
The wall is large and diverse, made of stone in some places to avoid landslides on high slopes and mountainous areas. These parts are a testament to the amazing rock arrangement skills of the indigenous H"Re people. The parts made of earth/lay were built mostly by the Kinh people and soldiers of the Nguyen Dynasty.
The rampart’s stones arrangement techniques, varying in different sections and terrains, can also be seen in structures on Ly Son Island in Quang Ngai Province.
Many researchers believe, based on notes found in the book of Dai Nam Thuc Luc (the annals of Dai Nam or the true record of the great south) and geographical records maintained during King Dong Khanh’s reign (1885-1889) and other documents compiled under the Nguyen Dynasty, that the rampart with 115 guarded posts was mostly built by general Le Van Duyet of the Nguyen Dynasty in 1819 during the reign of King Gia Long (1802-1820).
However, according to Dr. Nguyen Tien Dong, chief technical officer of the Vietnam Institute of Archaeology, the wall was built more than 500 years ago by the Vietnamese Kinh people, the H’re people and soldiers. By the 19th century, it was maintained as a military project, he said.
Dr. Nguyen Dang Vu, director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Ngai, said some sections of the rampart on the mountains in Quang Ngai Province existed several centuries earlier. He speculates that these sections may have been built by General Bui Ta Han (1496–1568), known for both literary and martial art skills, when he was assigned to the head position of Quang Nam.
The discovery of many ceramic artifacts during excavations at some sections of the rampart also proves that the rampart was built in the 16th century, not the 19th; and the close trading relationships that existed between Vietnamese Kinh peoples and the indigenous ethnic minorities, including H"Re, Chinese, Ka Dong, Xo Dang, and the Ba Na.
One more thing that makes the rampart interesting is that it was built not only for protection and military purposes but also to facilitate trade. Along the wall, the sections which are interrupted by many rivers and streams, are the mini-forts, guarded by soldiers, to ensure and create a safe environment for the Kinh and H"Re ethnic people to do business.
Each of the forts mentioned earlier was an open gate that facilitated travel and trade. The H’re people bought salt from Vietnamese people and the Vietnamese people bought rice, cinnamon and forest products from the H’re.
Experts studying the rampart also say that there is evidence that it was not just the Vietnamese Kinh people, but also the Thai and the Muong from Thanh Hoa Province who were part of the migration from the north to the south during the 18th century.
During the Vietnam War, the rampart sections in Duc Pho and Hoai Nhon districts in Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh provinces respectively were also used as a branch of the Ho Chi Minh Trail to transport weapons and food from the north to the south of the country.
Unearth and preserve
Researchers say the conclusions they have reached over the last five years are still preliminary findings. They are looking for foreign documents about the relic, and will continue excavation works to unlock more secrets about the very unique architectural structure.
Dr. Nguyen Giang Hai, vice director of the Vietnam Institute of Archaeology, said that, “The heritage is still alive if only the locals have the heart to preserve. Therefore, there is a need to sow the seed of consciousness for protecting the relic in the community living alongside the structure.”
Prof. Christopher Young, head of the UK Heritage Council’s Advisory Board, said, “The general principle is that a world heritage is not something to admire, but that it is for the benefit of people. Therefore, the development of tourism related to this relic should involve benefits such as income-generation opportunities for communities living alongside.”
For its part, the institute should help Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh prepare the application for the rampart to be recognized as a national, cultural and historical relic. The legal recognition will help to protect it better and will also be necessaery preparatory work for subsequent recognition as a world cultural heritage by UNESCO, Hai added.
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News Update
- Floating around
For several generations, these markets have kept afloat rural livelihoods, a way of life, and a distinct culture
For several generations, these markets have kept afloat rural livelihoods, a way of life, and a distinct culture
Can Tho City’s Cai Rang Floating Market is one of the biggest floating markets in the southern regionFloating markets are great tourist draws.
Found only in Southeast Asia, the sight of boats as shops and food stops, the colors of the boats and the produce, ranging from flowers to fruits and vegetables to everything else found in on-land markets, never fail to impress.
However, if you were to tarry a while, the markets have interesting stories to tell, stories of those whose families have been clothed and fed for generations by them, of those who have met their life partners there, and those who cannot imagine their lives without it.
When the first rays of the sun spread their light, thousands of boats of different sizes have already converged along the Tien and Hau rivers in locations that have remained the same for centuries, whether it is Cai Be (Tien Giang Province), Tra On (Vinh Long Province), Phong Dien (Can Tho City) or Thoi Binh (Ca Mau Province).
Not only have the boats gathered, but the markets are already in full swing at dawn. The scene of sellers skillfully throwing and catching goods from one boat to another with the skill of jugglers is one that stands out, but there are many other chaotic scenes where the underlying method is not immediately apparent.
Unlike shops and stalls in ordinary markets, sellers cannot cry out their wares since it is impossible to be heard amidst the noise of running boat engines. So samples of goods are hung on bamboo poles that can be easily seen from afar.
Floating markets draw people from everywhere, and a boat’s initials, like registration plates, identify where it is from. A boat marked “TG” is one that comes from Tien Giang Province, for instance.
Among the big boats are small ones darting in and out selling cooked food and drinks to market-goers and visitors. These swimming canteens skillfully draw alongside boats ordering food and drinks, but there are also occasions when the big boats make a food stop by the side of smaller ones.
One would expect that a floating market is no place for a service industry, but these days, they also offer several “modern” services like installing ringtones and wallpaper for cell phones and cell phone repairs.
Repositories of culture
Floating markets are also living museums of the southern traditional culture that has been fostered by the Mekong Delta’s interlacing waterway systems.
With the advent of several new road networks and bridges over many rivers, as well as the setting up of supermarkets on the mainland, the indispensability of floating markets has been dented somewhat, but the waterways still offer the only route to several rural remote areas in the region.
But many locals still prefer floating markets which have been a part of their daily lives and livelihoods for generations
The floating market has helped Van raise her three children and send them to schoolLam, a merchant from Hau Giang Province who drives his boat to Can Tho City’s Cai Rang Floating Market, one of the biggest in the south, says: “My whole clan lives as vendors on floating markets. We own more than ten boats.”
They have an advantage in working together because they can easily exchange information about prices and demand and supply in market, Lam adds.
Di Ba, as she is called by everyone at the Cai Rang Floating Market, is probably the most famous name among food sellers here. For more than thirty years, the woman whose real name is Nguyen Thi Ngoc Van, has taken her small boat to the market, serving bun (noodle) to the locals.
Her family was very poor, Di Ba says. “Like other poor people, my husband and I have to go “down” the river for a living since we don’t have any job or land.”
However, this 60-year-old woman has not only raised her three children well, but also given them a complete education that has changed their lives.
Her children don’t want their mother to continue selling noodles at the floating market at her age, but Di Ba cannot quit. “I am so attached to the market that I feel uncomfortable if I am separated from it.”
read more >>> - The poetry of a waterfall in the spring
From Duc Pho Town in the central province of Quang Ngai, we went west across seven kilometers of road through thick sugarcane fields.
From Duc Pho Town in the central province of Quang Ngai, we went west across seven kilometers of road through thick sugarcane fields.
We passed through a forest before the road let out into a poetic clearing of rocks and water. We had reached Da Giang Spring in Pho Nhon Commune.
We followed the spring that runs smoothly through rocks as the sound of crashing water grew louder and louder.
Then we hit the cascade, dozens of meters high. The waterfall created dazzling white spumes when it hit the spring.
It was easy to find large and flat rocks to use as small picnic tables. We were given shade by the leafy canopy of the old-growth forest.
My friend, who lives in the area, used a local trick to chill our beers: he placed them in a small hollowed out space in the rocks that filled with cool spring water. Ten minutes later, we were quenching our thirst with cold beer.
Orchids in yellow, purple, and pink jutted out from cliffs. Such a soft beauty in such a mighty forest!
read more >>> - New 18-hole golf course opens in Da Nang
VinaCapital , Vietnam"s largest fund manager, Friday launched an 18-hole golf course in the central city of Da Nang.
VinaCapital , Vietnam"s largest fund manager, Friday launched an 18-hole golf course in the central city of Da Nang.
Designed by Australian Greg Norman, the world"s number one ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s, "The Dunes" covers 150 hectares of a sand hill in Ngu Hanh Son District’s Hoa Hai Ward, about 10 kilometers from the city"s downtown area.
It is one of the two 18-hole courses belonging to the Da Nang Golf Club. The other is yet to be put into use.
The club is part of the US$450 million VinaCapital tourism complex built along the Da Nang beach that includes hotels, villas and apartments.
read more >>> - Tour operators form responsible travel club in Vietnam
Eight local tour operators recently gathered in Hanoi to officially launch the Responsible Travel Club of Vietnam (RTC), with the goal of promoting tourism that respects the ecosystem, biodiversity and local cultural values.
Eight local tour operators recently gathered in Hanoi to officially launch the Responsible Travel Club of Vietnam (RTC), with the goal of promoting tourism that respects the ecosystem, biodiversity and local cultural values.
The members include Footprint Travel, Indochina Travelland, Active Travel, Blue Swimmer Adventures, Freewheelin’ Tours, La Vie Vu Linh, I Travel and Sisters Tours Vietnam.
According to Dang Xuan Son, product manager for Footprint Travel and chairman of the club, RTC aims at working closely with travel firms, NGOs, communities and authorities to promote responsible tourism in Vietnam, design and market tourism products.
“Working together is key to the success of responsible travel, which is about giving something back,” he said.
Currently, RTC is working with SNV Netherlands Development Organization in an on-going responsible travel project in Chieng Yen Commune, Moc Chau District in Son La Province.
read more >>> - Vietnam Travel - News
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read more >>> - Foreign arrivals to Vietnam up 35.7 pct in Jan-Apr
Foreign arrivals to Vietnam reached 1.8 million in the first four months this year, up 35.7 percent from the same period last year, official figures show.
The number of tourists rose 39.5 percent while arrivals for business purposes up 60.4 percent in the period, the Vietnam Economic Times reported, citing the General Statistics Office in Hanoi.
China continued to be the largest market for Vietnamese tourism products with 307,000 visitors, followed by South Korea and the US, according to the office.
Vietnam plans to spend VND71 billion (US$3.75 million) on tourism promotion this year, compared with VND50 billion last year, as the country has set a full year target of 4.2-4.5 million foreign arrivals.
read more >>>
