The Suoi Mo eco-tourism area in Nghia Phuong commune (Luc Nam district, Bac Giang province) is an attractive address that lures tourists near and far, especially during the Suoi Mo temple festival (from the 30th day of the third lunar month to the first day of the fourth lunar month).
According to the legend, the 9th Hung King had a daughter named Que My Nuong, who was very virtuous and kind. At the age of marriage, many kings and princes came to propose marriage to her, but she refused all and only loved going sightseeing. She liked going to Huyen Dinh – Yen Tu valley as it has a mysterious beauty with mild climate and is surrounded by row on row of mountains and forests.
Once, on the first day of spring, the princess travelled to the land of Nghia Phuong. Seeing that the land here was arid and the people were hungry, she was heartbroken. The princess used five fingertips to press down on each stone. Strangely, a stream of cool water rushed out, bringing water to the fields. Since then, the land here has become fertile and the locals’ lives have been increasingly prosperous.
To remember the merits of princess Que My Nuong, the villagers named that stream Suoi Mo (or Suoi Mau). Along the two banks of the stream, the people built three adjacent temples, namely Ha (Lower) temple, Trung (Middle) temple and Thuong (Upper) temple. Princess Que My Nuong was conferred by the people as Thanh Mau Thuong Ngan (Mother Goddess of Forest).
To show the gratitude towards the princess and commemorate her great merits, the local people solemnly organize the Suoi Mo temple festival on the two main days (the 30th day of the third lunar month and the first day of the fourth lunar month). The festival is mainly held on the three temples and around the Suoi Mo eco-tourism area.
It includes rituals and festive activities. The rituals feature the palanquin procession of the Quynh village people to the Trung temple, followed by the palanquin procession of the Dum villagers to the Ha temple and a ceremony to worship the Thuong temple from a distance to pray for good harvests, good health and wealth …
Festive activities include a cultural exchange, cheo (traditional opera) and chau van (ritual) singing, and some unique folk games such as wrestling, cockfighting and chess…
With the natural landscape blended with the old vestiges, the Suoi Mo festival is really attractive to tourists from many regions throughout the country. They come to Suoi Mo to pray for good and peaceful things in life. They also come there to learn about the local customs and practices as well as to visit, experience and explore the Suoi Mo eco-tourism area.
In addition, according to the legend, in this place, Great Lord Hung Dao (Tran Quoc Tuan), together with soldiers and generals, made a resounding victory against the invading northern enemies. Therefore, the local people also set up a temple to commemorate his merits. There are also the relics of Quan Ngua and Mai Guom grounds…
The Suoi Mo temple historical relic site has become a pride of the local people, because of not only the beauty of the natural landscape but also the cultural beauty in Vietnamese cultural space.
| The Suoi Mo temple historical relic site has become a pride of the local people, because of not only the beauty of the natural landscape but also the cultural beauty in Vietnamese cultural space. |
In addition, the special-use forest of the Suoi Mo eco-tourism area is a tropical forest ecosystem, a typical feature of northeastern Vietnam, where there is a rich and diverse vegetation with hundreds of species of plants, timber trees, medicinal plants, and dozens of mammal species, hundreds of birds and reptiles…
Coming to Suoi Mo, the first impressive sight is a clear water flow bending itself like a silk strip flowing from mountains with big stones heaped up, making the stream have many vertical waterfalls producing strongly flowing water with white foams.
The stream bed has many artificial baths, surrounded by hills and mountains, with the plentiful and diverse vegetation including hundreds of species of plants. Occasionally, somewhere there are sweet sounds of birds echoing. All are like being mixed together to make this place peaceful and quiet, giving visitors relaxing moments and a chance to live with nature in a close, natural way.
Source: Bacgiangonline
