Travellive Magazine Vietnam: Dai Lanh, a tourist attraction carved on Cuu Dinh

By: Ass.Prof. Trinh Sinh

Every time I visit Hue, I also come to admire Cuu Dinh, the “9 bronze statues” casted over 170 years ago at the golden time of the Nguyen regime. The History books note that under the Nguyen dynasty, the “9 bronze statues” were created as eternally precious objects. They were skillfully and sophisticatedly carved over a period of 3 years from 1835 to 1837. Many beautiful markings of interest to local and international tourists appear on the statues.

From Cuu Dinh
A dynasty was over but Cuu Dinh remained unchanged, standing in the middle of the Hoang Thanh grounds. Their beauty over time is now represented by the browny green of bronze and the magnificent status of the nine statues. Cuu Dinh is a valuable asand a true art of the Nguyen Dynasty. They also reveal many historical facts related to the feudal dynasty of

Vietnam

. The high statue symbolizes the first King Gia Long; the second one is King Minh Mang, who made the order to Du Dinh and Huyen Dinh). It shows that some of the Kings' positions were not as glorified as the others, including that of the final King Bao Dai. In the flow of history, the nine bronze statues have been likened to a live history source, which hides many secrets of a dynasty left to challenge and intrigue the following generations.

... tracing Dai Lanh
Cuu Dinh has kept to Vietnamese nature and traditions as represented by the artistic carving images on the bodies. 153 bronze carving sheets can be found on the statues, including one on which exists a beautiful image of a beach named Dai lanh.
Dai Lanh Beach is engraved on Tuyen Dinh (corresponding to King Khai Dinh), which is 1.89 m high and weighs approximately 2 tons of copper with a 1.63m diameter. Not only appreciated by the Nguyen dynasty, Dai Lanh beach is today recognized as one the most spectacular tourist destinations in Southeast Asia by the world tourism organization. Inspired by stories of these statues, I plan a trip to the land of blue and wavy water.

Dai Lanh (Van Ninh district, Khanh Hoa province) owns a natural beauty. The beach stretches about 3 km with white sand. When swimming here, you can be far offshore without being submerged and the blue clean sea water is pretty salty which makes it even more buoyant. This is a second-to-none beach inVietnam; even some famous beaches such as Nha Trang, Do Son and Bai Chay are incomparable.
It has a spectacular mountain forest nearby and to the north lies 12 km of the main pass road. To the south is Co Ma pass which, from a distance, looks like a horse heading to swim in the sea. It’s a miracle mixture of sea and mountain that nature has granted to Khanh Hoa province and it explains why many talented scholars of the Nguyen Dynasty choose Dai Lanh to revere.

One strength of Dai Lanh lies in its location which is at the intersection of National Highway 1 and the North-South railway, which is extremely convenient for travellers. Tourists can fly to Nha Trang airport, then travel back about 80 km or 25km from Tuy Hoa airport to reach Dai Lanh. It also has a railway station of the same name in the centre of the city. If travelling by car, tourists should choose a credited company such as Mai Linh, Hoang Long or Open Tours.

Over the years, Dai Lanh has been successful in preserving the original beauty of the land. Visiting here today, besides enjoying the services of some new hotels and restaurants, tourists have a chance to experience Vietnamese history through the discovery of an ancient Dai Lanh railway station and market. You will feel the full beauty of Dai Lanh immediately after stepping onto the beach. A lively picture appears in front of us with lots of boats and ships. It’s wonderful to view the sun rising over the beach in the early morning when the boats and ships return from their trips with fish, shrimps and cuttle-fish, which are then traded right on the beach. The local people say that a large fish port is going to be up here.

Along the coastline lies many green casuarina trees. No big tourist projects can yet be found here. In addition to exploring Dai Lanh’s original beautiful beach, tourists have an opportunity to taste flavourful local cuisine such as fresh cuttle-fish hot pot. Taking a walk along the line of fisherman also offers unforgettable moments.

With its blue sky and sea, Dai lanh can be seen on a map of Vietnam as a land which has more than its fair share of ocean. It overlooks the Pacific ocean and boasts a chain of fantastic tourist attractions. On the nearby main pass, tourists can see Vung Ro beach at the foot of the pass. This is a must-visit beach. Next to it lies an ancient lighthobuilt in the French colonial period to help boats and ship maneuver around the main pass. Tourists also have a chance to view Da Bia (a stone sculpture) and get to know a famous legend relating to it. From Dai Lanh, you must visit Van Phong Bay. Currently, the bay is isolated but in the next ten years, many big buildings are planned to be constructed on the land, including one of the deepest water ports in Southeast Asia, becaof its convenient location as the link to international marine way over the East sea, as part of numerous large-scale projects worth several billions of dollars. From Dai Lanh, tourists can travel along the road built by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism for about 20 km to reach other primary fishing villages such as Khai Luong and Dam Mon. Here you will see many white sand beaches near the villages and a lot of oyster rafts. You can also dive deep into the sea to view the cuphorbia and schools of swimming fish. The landscape here is also dotted with some rock "bonsai" in different shapes on the sea shores. On the bank of Van Phong Bay lies a special fishing village named Son Dung, from which the local people are more skillful in forestry works than in fishing. They look slightly different to other Vietnamese, and legend has it that they come from an unknown place. They are named the “Dang Ha” people. Mui Doi is also a must-see destination for tourists, which is located on Hon Gom island of the bay. It’s the part of the country to receive the first sunlight of the day.

Those interested in the history of Van Phong Bay can also pay a visit to the ancient villages of 2500 years ago which were excavated in 2009. Many artifacts are displayed in Khanh Hoa Museum such as stone axes, jewellery, grates, pestles and even the bones of ancient people. The ancient village is now known as Vinh Yen of Van Thanh commune, Van Ninh district, Khanh Hoa province.

We had just two days to experience all that Dai Lanh has to offer. The nearby undiscovered bays of Van Phong, Mui Doi, Vung Ro and Da Ban help to exude the originality and airiness of this vast region of sky and sea.

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