The complex honoring Nguyễn Sinh Sắc – the father of President Ho Chi Minh – in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap was recognized as a national relic site in 1992. The site is in Pham Huu Lau street, Cao Lanh city.
Nguyễn Sinh Sắc was born in 1862 in Kim Lien village, Nam Dan district, Nghe An province, in central Vietnam. In 1901, he ranked second in a national examination and gained the title “Junior Doctor”.
In June, 1906, Sắc moved to Hue, the imperial capital in central Vietnam, to serve as a mandarin. In 1917, he was invited by a patriotic landlord to come to Cao Lanh city. Sac accepted.
Subsequently, he lived in Hoa An village as a teacher and a herbal doctor until his death in November, 1929, at the age of 67. Sắc, a patriotic Confucian scholar, was buried in Hoa An village.
His originally small grave was upgraded to a larger tomb after Vietnam’s Unification Day. Tour guide Huỳnh Như said of Junior Doctor Nguyen Sinh Sac’s relic site, “The Junior Doctor’s tomb was built in 1975 and inaugurated in 1977.
The complex includes the tomb, a worshipping area, a replica of Hoa An village, and President Ho Chi Minh’s stilt house, which is a duplicate of the one in Hanoi. In 2010, the relic was expanded to nine hectares.”
Sac’s tomb is tiled with granite. The up-side-down-lotus-shaped roof is embossed with nine dragon heads, representing the Mekong Delta region. In front of the tomb is a giant lotus-shaped incense burner tiled with marble.
In its proximity is a star-shaped lotus pond with a seven-meter-high white lotus statue in the middle, which symbolizes the pure, noble life of Junior Doctor Nguyễn Sinh Sắc.
Nguyễn Sinh Sắc's worshiping hall (Photo: Ngoc Anh/VOV5)
Hoa An village where Sac lived until his death offers homestay services for visitors who want to experience the old lifestyle.
Tourist Nguyễn Thu Lan of Dong Thap province said, “This relic site is beautiful and spacious. Locals are proud that Nguyễn Sinh Sắc – President Ho Chi Minh’s father – lived here in our homeland.”
The bonsai garden inside the relic site features several rare species donated by pilgrims and planted by state leaders. There are two wood sculptures by artist Lê Trí Liên which are recognized as the biggest stump sculptures in Vietnam.
The complex honoring Nguyễn Sinh Sắc often serves as a venue for Party gatherings, exhibits, conferences, and national celebrations.
Phan Thị Vũ Quyên, Director of the complex, said, “The relic site’s managers and the Dong Thap provincial Department of Education and Training have agreed to turn this complex into a venue for history classes and ceremonies for Party and Youth Union membership admission. We have upgraded it for historical and tourism attraction. An exhibition hall will be built inside the complex to feature President Ho Chi Minh’s life and revolutionary career.”
Junior Doctor Nguyễn Sinh Sắc’s relic site welcomes half a million visitors each year. His death anniversary on the 27th day of the 10th lunar month is officially recognized as a provincial commemoration. VOV5
Source: english.vov.vn/
