Va Shrine (Đền Và)

The temple worships Saint Tan Vien, one of the four immortals in the Vietnamese popular mythos. Also called "the Palace of the East", it is one of four temples in Son Tay region dedicated to this legendary figure. Phung Minh Son, Head of Va temple management board, says: "Our temple on a hill looks like a turtle turning to the sun, in the middle of an ironwood forest of about 6 hectares. There are nearly 250 ironwood trees, of which 95 are listed as heritages. In the 16th and 17th century, the temple was very rudimentary made of bamboo and straw. But in the 18th century, it was rebuilt in the form of the current temple.”

The temple has existed since the Chinese colonization of Tang, as evidenced by a stele built in 1883 in the reign of King Tu Duc. Despite its modest size, the place was sacred from the beginning.

Several other renovations were subsequently completed, including the largest in 1902. The place of worship today extends over 2,000m2, surrounded by a laterite wall two meters high. Following the precepts of traditional Vietnamese architecture, it lies on a North-South axis and its main gate faces Mount Tan Viên in Ba Vi district. The main gate consists of three wooden columns, which rest on a large laterite foundation.

The annual temple festival coincides with the first full moon of the lunar calendar. The most awaited ceremony is the procession of the ancestral tablets of the three deities of Mount Tan Vien (Saint Tan Vien and his two cousins). from the Và temple to Dôi temple in the neighboring province of Vinh Phuc across the Red River and then back to Va temple. Phung Minh Son says of the temple festivals: "The celebrations fall in the spring and autumn.