The village has many massive family churches.

"C ON BILLIONAIRE ROAD"

Amidst the lush green fields on the banks of the Gianh River, Ha Trach commune has a very grand "welcome" for those who set foot in it with dozens of family temples located along the road into the commune.

Many majestic family temples were built along the "billion-dollar road" in Ha Trach commune.

In this landscaped countryside, there are no "billion-dollar neighborhoods" with adjacent villas or subdivided residential areas, but there is a "billion-dollar road". That road is only a kilometer long, and has not even been named, but is associated with dozens of massive family temples, built by many generations of Ha Trach people to commemorate their ancestors.

Cao Lao Ha village has a total of 25 clans, but 23 clans have built large and beautiful churches. Each church is a story of the clan, continuing through many generations. The later-built clan churches are often more beautiful, larger, and more expensive than the previous ones. "Until now, no one has confirmed that Ha Trach is the place with the most clan churches in Quang Binh province, but I have been to many places and found that there is no place like it. And I am sure that there is no road with as many clan churches as ours," said Mr. Tran Tuan Hung, a cultural officer of Ha Trach commune, unable to hide his pride.

Unlike the "mausoleum city" of An Bang in Thua Thien-Hue which was built for those who "lie down with the earth", the family temples in Ha Trach, although also quite expensive, are used as places to worship ancestors and also as gathering places for descendants on important occasions. Leading us to the temple of the Le Quang family, one of the big families in Ha Trach, Mr. Hung said that the cost to build this temple was not less than 2 billion VND. "On average, each temple here costs between 1 and 2 billion VND to build, and most of it is contributed by children in the village, in the commune, and people working far away. The later it is, the higher the cost, mostly because the construction style is different, the cost of labor and materials is also higher, and especially the descendants in the family want to have a decent family temple," Mr. Hung said.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Thang (68 years old, Head of Nguyen Van family in Cao Lao Ha village, Ha Trach) said that the ancestor of his family was from Nghi Loc (Nghe An) and was also the village's tutelary god when he came here to reclaim land 500 years ago. "Our family temple was built hundreds of years ago and has been renovated many times. It has survived many wars and is still intact. We have many things to be proud of, including 3 pairs of bronze cranes, the largest pair weighing 80 kg appeared about ten years ago," said Mr. Thang.

Le Quang family temple, one of the big family temples of Ha Trach commune

HAVE A PLACE TO RETURN TO

Mr. Luu Ba Lam, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ha Trach Commune, does not remember exactly when the ancient Cao Lao Ha people and the Ha Trach people today built their majestic family temples. Since he was a child, he saw two ancient trees in front of the Le Quang family temple gate and asked his father when they were there, but his father shook his head and said he did not know. "The two ancient trees are easily hundreds of years old and many generations of villagers were born, grew up, and grew old, and they are still there. That means the tradition of building family temples of our Ha Trach people has existed for hundreds of years," Mr. Lam deduced.

According to Mr. Lam, Ha Trach commune has always been a purely agricultural commune, throughout history people have relied on the alluvium of the Gianh River to grow crops. Ha Trach people may not be famous for being rich, but they are not "inferior" to anyone in terms of filial piety to their ancestors. "The construction of the church in the past is proof that the people of Cao Lao Ha village in the past understood the ethics of worship, gratitude to their ancestors, and gratitude to those who opened the land," said Mr. Lam.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Thang, Head of Nguyen Van family in Cao Lao Ha village, Ha Trach, is proud of what is in the family temple.

What is special is that the family temples in Ha Trach are not only open on the days of each family's worship, but also "open a common festival" twice a year, including the Thanh Minh festival on the 15th day of the third lunar month and the Con Cui festival on the 16th day of the sixth lunar month. Mr. Le Quang Chau, former Party Secretary of the commune, now Chairman of the Elderly Association of Ha Trach commune, said that on those days, thousands of Ha Trach children from the locality as well as from all over the country flocked to the "billion-dollar road", dressed up like they were going to a festival, having fun, eating, drinking, singing and dancing. "That's why I say that for many generations of Ha Trach villagers, no matter where they are or what they do, the family temples are the place they return to," Mr. Chau shared.

(to be continued)

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