National historical relic Duom Temple is in need of restoration.

Duom Temple (Dong Dat Commune, Phu Luong District) was built around the 12th century (1180), and is a place to worship the famous general Duong Tu Minh, a talented general under the Ly Dynasty, who had great merit in keeping the northern border of Dai Viet peaceful in the 12th century. With his outstanding talent, he was appointed by the Ly Dynasty kings as the leader of Phu Luong Palace.

In 1993, Duom Temple was recognized as a National Historical Relic by the Ministry of Culture and Sports; in 2017, Duom Temple Festival was included in the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Previously, the Dossier for ranking the Duom Temple relic made by the Bac Thai Provincial Museum (after the provinces were separated into Bac Kan and Thai Nguyen) in 1992 stated: "Under the eastern mountain slope is the Duong Tu Minh Temple in the central area of ​​the relic. In 1949, this area was bombed, destroying most of the Temple relic cluster, but it has now been restored and rebuilt. The current status of the remaining Temple architectural cluster includes: The gate and retaining wall system, Quan Son temple, Ba Phu temple, the road system to Trung temple, Ham Long (Natural stone). Trung temple (the main temple worshiping Duong Tu Minh), the road system to Thuong temple - also known as Mau temple (worshiping Duong Tu Minh's mother)....

Regarding the interior decoration of the temple, from Quan Son temple to the main temple, there are altars, the altars were newly rebuilt since 1987....".

According to the elders in the area, before 1980, the historical site of Duom Temple did not have many construction items, including only the Middle Temple with an area of ​​40m2 and the Lower Temple which is the shrine of 2 princesses (15m2). The items were made simply with bamboo pillars and roofs thatched with palm leaves. Other worship areas were mainly incense sticks or incense bowls.

Due to time and harsh nature, the main construction materials are wood and natural leaves, so the Temple is damaged and degraded. Every year, local people have to repair it to organize ceremonies on January 5 and 6.

From 1980 to now, Duom Temple relic has undergone 9 times of restoration and embellishment. All the existing construction items at the relic are new constructions that were maintained, embellished and rebuilt 45 years ago. Some items such as: Tam Quan gate newly built in 1996, Bell Tower in 1997, Trung Temple in 2003, Thuong Temple, Ha Temple in 2007, are not original relics, not ancient architectural and artistic relics .

According to Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism (DOCST) of Thai Nguyen province, Do Xuan Hoa, the Duom Temple Festival is one of the important early-year events for the people of Phu Luong district. Since 2015, the People's Committee of Phu Luong district, relevant departments and agencies have coordinated with the Department of Cultural Heritage (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) and experts to research, restore festival rituals, and restore and embellish relics.

Up to now, the rituals in the offering ceremony, the land procession, and the water procession have been gradually restored and perfected to suit the actual conditions of the Duom temple space, carrying profound traditional educational significance.

According to the Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thai Nguyen province, after each renovation, the works are built more spacious than before. However, due to limited funding, the renovation is still small, patchy, and lacks uniformity. The construction, renovation, embellishment, and basic repair items are temporary in nature, do not achieve long-term durability, lack uniformity, and affect the overall aesthetics of the relic.

In addition, the area inside the relic is small and narrow; over time, the humid space, the relic site is located on a rocky mountainside, which has affected the construction items, causing degradation, subsidence, cracking, and leakage, affecting the structure as well as the aesthetics of the relic items. The system of works such as Trung Temple, Phu Ba (Dien Binh Palace, Thieu Dung Palace), and Bell Tower have not met the needs of daily life, cultural enjoyment, and spirituality of the people as well as achieved the architectural and artistic value of the relics from the Ly - Tran period (12th - 13th century)...

"The restoration and embellishment of the relic at Duom Temple has been in a state of being done piecemeal for a long time, not comprehensive enough to enhance the value of the relic," said the Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thai Nguyen province. "To ensure the safety of the people and tourists coming to worship, sightsee and perform rituals safely, and at the same time to preserve the sacred objects at the Temple from damage, the restoration and embellishment of Duom Temple relic is urgent and important. The local government and relevant agencies have actively implemented the steps according to regulations."

Mr. Do Xuan Hoa said that the items to be renovated and embellished this time include: Thuong Temple; Trung Temple (the main worship area of ​​the Relic); 2 shrines to worship the two princesses; bell tower; fence area, landscape of the Relic. All items will be renovated, more suitable and designed and built in the original style of Ly Dynasty architecture. The construction materials are durable. Hundreds of local people came to help the Management Board clean up the site, move the sacred objects for the ceremony and the property of the Relic to safe locations, avoiding loss; breakage, damage. The total construction cost will be socialized, estimated at about 22 billion VND.

Based on the Proposal of the People's Committee of Phu Luong district, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thai Nguyen province has consulted and submitted to the Provincial People's Committee the policy of restoring and embellishing the relic. On March 10, 2025, the Provincial People's Committee issued Official Dispatch No. 1473/UBND-KGVX on the policy of restoring and embellishing the national historical relic of Duom Temple; at the same time, there was Proposal No. 24/TTr-UBND dated March 11, 2025 submitted to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for appraisal of the Technical Economic Report on restoring and embellishing the historical relic and scenic spot of Duom Temple (Dong Dat commune, Phu Luong district, Thai Nguyen province).

Mr. Do Xuan Hoa added that the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism continues to coordinate with the People's Committee of Phu Luong district, relevant agencies, units, businesses, and philanthropists to complete the necessary conditions and procedures so that the project can be completed soon.

Tran Son