Unique land of two kings imbued with the 'soul' of the North

Duong Lam is known as the place of two kings because it is the hometown of Phung Hung and Ngo Quyen. Duong Lam has become an impressive destination for domestic and foreign tourists to visit and experience tourism in the suburbs of Hanoi.

Enjoy ancient houses hundreds of years old

Duong Lam ancient village is a densely populated relic complex, with 50 valuable relics, many of which have been ranked by the State (including 7 national relics, 2 relics and 10 ancient houses ranked at the provincial level), in addition to preserving nearly 100 ancient houses of special value dating back over 100 years and nearly 1,000 traditional rural houses in the Northern Delta region.

The book Dai Viet Dia Du Toan Bien compiled by Nguyen Van Sieu clearly states: “... Bo Cai Dai Vuong is Phung Hung. Tien Ngo Vuong Quyen are both from Duong Lam. Now Cam Lam commune, Cam Gia canton, Phuc Tho district (Cam Lam commune was formerly Cam Tuyen commune) has 2 temples worshiping Bo Cai Dai Vuong and Tien Ngo Vuong”. This book also mentions a stele erected during the Tran Dynasty, affirming that Duong Lam is the hometown of Bo Cai Dai Vuong Phung Hung and Tien Ngo Vuong - Ngo Quyen.

Mong Phu village welcomes visitors with an ancient gate hidden under a large tree, next to a row of old elm trees. In front is a field and a lotus pond, creating a harmonious landscape, like a rural painting. Mong Phu village gate looks like a house, with tiles on top, but only the walls on both sides and the system of pillars in the front and back create solidity. Mong Phu village gate is not large, but has a rustic beauty, with bare laterite walls.

Mong Phu communal house located in the center of the village is also very unique. The communal house has no surrounding walls, instead there are airy railings, convenient for community activities. According to the ancients, Mong Phu village is located on a dragon-shaped land. The dragon's head is where Mong Phu communal house is located. The communal house was built in 1684 (during the reign of King Le Hy Tong). From this central area, bright red brick roads spread out to small hamlets.

Duong Lam ancient village became the first ancient village in the country to be awarded the National Historical and Cultural Relic Certificate by the State in 2006. In 2014, Hanoi issued the Project "Investment in restoration, preservation and promotion of the value of ancient village relics in Duong Lam commune"; in which, support and investment in 15 contents such as investment in restoration of degraded ranked relics, investment in restoration of degraded ancient houses, investment in preservation and promotion of the value of ancient village relics with contents such as design of typical house models, support for households with high-rise buildings to lower the height and support loan interest rates for households with the need to build and renovate houses to suit the landscape... with a total budget of over 456,000 billion VND. Therefore, ancient houses and relics are regularly restored and maintained to avoid damage, while still preserving the architecture of ancient Northern villages.

In September 2019, the ancient village relic in Duong Lam was recognized by the City People's Committee as a city-level tourist destination and in November 2019, the Town People's Committee held a ceremony to receive and announce the decision on the tourist destination and at the same time launched the website about Son Tay tourism.

Old ladies prepare to wrap banh chung next to an ancient house in Duong Lam Ancient Village. (Photo: Ngoc Diep)

The number of tourists coming to Duong Lam is quite large and diverse. In addition to the groups of tourists studying archeology and history, every year many domestic and international tourists come to visit and learn about regional culture, experience traditional crafts, and experience local agricultural production activities.

Currently, there are over 200 households in the 5 villages of the relic providing tourism services such as restaurants, homestays, organizing experiential activities for tourists, initially creating a stable income. Coming to Duong Lam, visitors can not only explore the landscape with communal houses, ancient houses, relics, and banyan trees, but also enjoy rustic specialties with rich hometown flavors such as: Mia chicken, roasted pork, Lam tea, stuffed candy, peanut candy, gai cake, etc.

Director of Seotai Travel Company (Korea) Kim Sang Hoon said: “I also had the opportunity to visit ancient houses. What I found most interesting was witnessing people still living in ancient houses that are 200 - 300 years old. In the future, I will include Duong Lam ancient village in my tour itinerary to spread the unique cultural features of this village to more Korean tourists.”

Sustainable rural tourism product: Experience traditional Northern cuisine at Duong Lam ancient village (Duong Lam commune, Son Tay town, Hanoi) received the ASEAN sustainable tourism product award in 2024. This prestigious award is a testament to the efforts, quality, and brand of Duong Lam tourism, reflecting the strong recovery of Son Tay town tourism in recent times. During the Tet holiday of At Ty 2025 alone, about 30,000 visitors visited Duong Lam ancient village during the Tet holiday of At Ty 2025.

Avoid losing the inherent identity of the ancient village

The Management Board of Duong Lam Ancient Village Relics said that in the coming time, the Management Board of Relics will continue to carry out the preservation, conservation and promotion of heritage values ​​in parallel with heritage tourism products, spiritual tourism; develop OCOP products "Community tourism services and tourist attractions", build traditional tourism products, promote intangible cultural values, festivals, customs and practices...

However, according to tourism experts, Duong Lam ancient village has not yet fully exploited its tourism potential due to fragmented tourism products and lack of connectivity. In mid-March 2025, the Hanoi Department of Tourism and the Hanoi UNESCO Travel Club organized a survey program, linking cooperation in tourism development and launching a campaign to protect the sustainable tourism environment in Duong Lam ancient village (Son Tay town) in 2025. The program aims to support travel companies in surveying and connecting with tourist destinations in Son Tay town to build new tours and routes; creating opportunities for Hanoi travel businesses and tourism service providers in Son Tay town to meet, exchange, share experiences, and coordinate to develop tourism products.

Actor Charlie Win and Miss Luong Ky Duyen in a space recreating traditional Tet at Duong Lam Ancient Village. (Photo: Huy Dong)

According to experts and tourism businesses participating in the survey team, for a destination to develop strongly, it requires the synchronous participation of relevant parties, especially travel businesses, accommodation services, restaurants and the local community. Linking businesses can help form package tours combining Duong Lam and neighboring destinations such as: Son Tay Citadel, Ba Vi National Park, Vietnam Ethnic Culture Village, Ao Vua Tourist Area...

Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Tourism Tran Trung Hieu said that tours to experience, learn about craft villages, and enjoy traditional cuisine such as Phu Nhi rice cakes, Lam tea, sugar cane chicken, etc. will be more attractive to tourists. In addition, for sustainable development, businesses need to commit to working with the locality to preserve cultural values ​​and ancient house architecture, support the community in developing systematic tourism, avoid excessive commercialization that would destroy the inherent identity of the ancient village; at the same time, contribute to making Duong Lam ancient village a "green" and attractive tourist destination of the capital; thereby raising awareness of environmental protection, preserving landscapes and cultural identity for the younger generation and tourists.

Bao Chau