07:00: Car & tour guide pick you up at the meeting point, start the tour to Son Tay Citadel - Duong Lam Ancient Village (45km from Hanoi city center - about 1 hour and 30 minutes of travel).
08:30: Arrive at Son Tay town, you will visit:
Va Temple: The East Palace in the "four palaces of the ancient Doai region" worships the mountain god Tan Vien in Vietnamese folk beliefs.
Son Tay Citadel: The citadel was built in the 3rd year of Minh Mang (1822) and is the only ancient citadel built of laterite in Vietnam with unique architecture such as: laterite walls, 4 gates built of ancient bricks. This is one of the few citadels under the Minh Mang dynasty that remains today, the citadel was solidly built to protect the land northwest of Thang Long.
Leaving the Citadel, you will get on the car to Duong Lam, only about 10 minutes away.
You will feel the fresh, peaceful air of the Vietnamese countryside and admire the ancient beauty of the village gate, banyan tree, water wharf, communal house yard... which are still almost completely preserved.
Mong Phu ancient village gate (one of 9 ancient villages in Duong Lam commune): the gate faces Southeast. Unlike the gates of other villages in the North, this village gate has the shape of a two-roofed house, located right on the road to the village, next to a banyan tree that is more than 300 years old. You can freely take photos, check-in at the village gate with the banyan tree, water wharf, lotus pond... intact landscapes that are rarely preserved anywhere.
Along the cleanly paved village road, between the dark yellow laterite walls, visitors will visit Mong Phu communal house, built in 1553 under King Le Than Tong with an area of 1800m2, worshiping Duc Thanh Tan. After many renovations and repairs, the communal house still retains its original architecture and sculptures of the early 19th century, typical of the traditional architecture of the ancient Northern Delta.
Also located in the center of the Duong Lam Ancient Village relic complex is the Giang Van Minh Temple. The relic was built during the Tu Duc period, with an area of 400m2, worshiping Giang Van Minh to commemorate his great contributions to the nation. In the church, precious relics such as parallel sentences, stone steles, incense burners, bronze urns, etc. are still preserved.
In addition, you can visit some ancient houses, family temples, communal houses, etc. to freely explore and take photos with rice mills, ancient wells, etc. The rich natural landscapes create an attractive highlight in the middle of Son Tay, Hanoi.
Noon: You will have lunch at the ancient house. Enjoy specialties: sticky rice wine, lam tea and rustic dishes made from wood and laterite.
14:00: You will visit Mia Pagoda: also known as Sung Nghiem Tu. The highlight of this pagoda is the system of extremely unique Buddha statues, rich in shape and quantity, vividly sculpted by the hands of sophisticated artisans. You come here to feel the peaceful, ancient space amidst the billowing incense smoke and the echoing sound of the temple bell.
15:00: From Mia Pagoda, you will get on the car to go to Bo Cai Dai Vuong Phung Hung Temple. Phung Hung Temples were built in many places, but Duong Lam is the largest in scale, however, the year of construction is unknown. Nestled under the canopy of ancient trees, the temple impresses with the serene beauty of the mossy tiled roof, silent over time.
Not far from Phung Hung Temple, only about 500m on the left is the Temple and Tomb of Ngo Quyen. This architectural complex is in the process of restoration and embellishment but still retains the ancient temple built of bricks and roofed with fish-tail tiles. Inside the temple, there are still two wooden stakes used by Ngo Quyen to fight the Southern Han army, creating a glorious historical victory. The mausoleum was built in 1874, designed in the style of a stele house, with a roof, about 1.5m high. What is special is that there are still 18 thousand-year-old rows of elm trees here, it is said that in the past, Ngo Quyen tied elephants and horses there, which have now been recognized as "National Heritage Trees".
17:00: The car takes the group back to Hanoi, to the original pick-up point, say goodbye and see you again in the next program.
