Long An is a place belonging to the Mekong Delta River of the south Vietnam. It is the interesting province to experience the life on boats and enjoy fresh fruits and seafood. Let’s come and enjoy the specialty of the province and get to know more about the culture and custom of the province.
Coming to Long An, tourists will immerse themselves into the heaven of fresh fruit gardens and visit a lot of historical sites in the province. Besides it, Long An is also the province with many traditional festivals and it is the original destination of Don Ca Tai Tu. Getting to know more about the culture as well as beautiful landscapes of Long An will give you an outstanding and deep understanding and feelings about the province.
First of all, Long An has a lot of historical sites offered to the visitors including the ancient Vinh Phong Temple and Phuoc Lam Pagoda. While that, the ancient Vinh Phong Temple is a memorial to Mr. Mai Thua Tu – the founder of the villges that later grew into the town of Thu Thua. It is an ancient temple from late Nguyen dynasty and it is the worshipping place of Mr. Mai Thua Tu. The temple was built and followed the style of Nguyen dynasty architecture and it is a special architecture in Long An. The temple has 3 layers consisting of stage for classical drama art, stage for practicing martial art and central chamber facing Thu Thua canal. The temple was classified the national historical relic in 1998.
Besides Vinh Phong Temple, Phuoc Lam pagoda is another national historical site in Long An that you should take a visit. Phuoc Lam pagoda or Ong Mieng Pagoda is located in Tan Lan Commune, Can Duoc District, Long An province and it was recognized the national heritage site in 2001. The pagoda was built by Mr. Bui Van Minh – a galenic physicals and landowner in Tan Lan. He built the pagoda with the aim at worshipping Buddhists as well as the worship hall of Bui family.The pagoda consists of 3 parts: sanctum, tomb tower and “nha tru”. It is the preservation place of more than 40 Buddhist statues, Bo Tat, Ngoc Hoang, Thi Gia, Thap Dieu, Diem Vuong, Thien Ac, Ho Ho Pha, etc. All of the Buddhist statues were made of wood following the art of Southern Buddhist culture. Visiting the pagoda, tourists will learn more about the Buddhist culture in Long An.
Long An is also the destination having a lot of traditional festivals taken place every year. Some famous festivals such as Ky Yen festival, praying for rain festival and Tong Phong festival. On the occasion of festivals, there are some traditional folk games happening including boat racing, tug of war, wrestling, etc. Taking the chance to join the games will bring you interesting and amazing experience and memories. These cultural festivals reflect the spiritual life and traditional culture of Long An people. In addition, Long An is also the land of many handicraft villages such as: wood sculpture, drum-making, ricepaper-making, boat-building. It contributes to create the specialty and unique features of Long An.
Last but not least, do not forget to enjoy the traditional singing in Long An which is Don Ca Tai Tu. Long An is the cradle of this singing and it is the traditional and popular singing in Long An. It is easy for you to enjoy this kind of music in Long An as there are many people in this place who are familiar with this kind of music and perform it in a sweet voice with the support of traditional instruments.
