Two festival seasons have been held annually in Con Son Pagoda in the Chi Linh District of the northern province of Hai Duong.
The spring festival season originated on the 22nd day of the first lunar month in 1334 and marks the anniversary of the death of monk Huyen Quang, one of the founders of Truc Lam Zen Buddhism. The autumn festival season begins on the 16th day of the eight lunar month, to mark the anniversary of the death of Nguyen Trai, a famous poet and politician during the Le Loi King in the 15th century. He wrote Binh Ngo Dai Cao, a declaration of freedom for the country.
The autumn festival was first held in 1962 and became an official national event in 1980 when Nguyen Trai was honoured as the Great Man of Culture by UNESCO.
Located 80km away from Ha Noi, Con Son Pagoda is known for its historic relics associated with the lives of many Vietnamese heroes and famous persons.Tourists will be attracted to the charming mountains, rivers and forests that form the poetic and beautiful landscape. Con Son Pagoda is one of three centres, Con Son, Yen Tu and Quynh Lam of Truc Lam Zen of the Tran dynasty in the 13th century. The pagoda was built between two mountain ranges, Phuong Hoang and Ky Lan, before the Tran dynasty and was restored and expanded under the Le dynasty in the 15th century. Over the years Con Son Pagoda has become small and hidden under green trees. If tourists visit out of the festival seasons, they will find a very peaceful atmosphere. Visitors will see many pine trees as they pass through the three-door gate and be fascinated by the old stone steles in the pagoda's ground. The one on the right was autographed by King Tran Due Tong (1337-77) when he visited in 1373. There are about 385 statues in the pagoda. Buddhist nun Tue Tam said that "some statues were created according to the portrait of famous monks and mandarins".During the French resistance war, the small statues and many objects for worship were hidden in the mountain. According to the story, one night during a thunderstorm, the pagoda's master monk could not sleep and decided to visit the statues in the next morning. When he arrived, he saw that the two unknown statues had been broken open to reveal two life-preserving amulets. They were identified as the great national hero Nguyen Trai and his concubine Nguyen Thi Lo.
