Duong Lam Ancient Village

When you come here, you will have the opportunity to explore ancient cultural features. Through architectural work, roads, and fascinating stories. Let’s explore this ancient village with Origin Vietnam.

1. Where is Duong Lam ancient village?

Duong Lam ancient village is located in Duong Lam commune, Son Tay town, Hanoi city, Vietnam. About 58 km northwest of Hanoi city center.

2. How is Dương Lam ancient village unique?

Duong Lam ancient village is the first ancient village to be recognized as a National Historical and Cultural Relic on May 19, 2006. Duong Lam is also famous for its nickname “one hamlet, two kings”. Because this is the birthplace of two famous kings in Vietnamese history. They are Phung Hung and Ngo Quyen.

In addition to its cultural values, the ancient village is also famous for its unique ancient architecture. The architectural feature here is the wooden houses with laterite walls. Each stone weighs nearly 20 kilograms and people dug up from the ground. Then, they cut them into square slabs and built into houses.

Although the exterior is rough and not very beautiful, these laterite walls help keep the house cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Currently, in Duong Lam, there are still 956 ancient laterite houses for you to explore.

3. History of Duong Lam Ancient Village

Duong Lam Ancient Village is the hometown of many famous people. Such as King Ngo Quyen, the third-ranked scholar Giang Van Minh, Mrs. Man Thien – the mother of Hai Ba Trung, Bo Cai Dai Vuong Phung Hung, Lady Mia – the builder of Mia Pagoda. The princess of Lord Trinh Trang, Phan Ke An, Phan Ke Toai, Kieu Mau Han, …

Although called an ancient village, Duong Lam has long consisted of 9 villages. It belongs to Cam Gia Thinh commune, Phuc Tho district, Son Tay town. It includes 5 villages Dong Sang, Mong Phu, Doai Giap, Cam Thinh, and Cam Lam adjacent to each other. These villages, although different, are all connected together into a unified entity. With customs, traditions, and beliefs that have not changed for thousands of years. In the early 19th century, Duong Lam Ancient Village was the seat of Son Tay town.

4. Unique architecture of Duong Lam ancient village

To this day, Duong Lam ancient village still retains most of the characteristics of ancient Vietnamese villages. The road system in Duong Lam village is very special because people designed it in the shape of a fish bone. With this structure, if you go from the communal house, you will never turn your back to the Holy Gate.

Another special thing in the architecture of Duong Lam ancient village is that an ancient village gate in Mong Phu village is still intact. This village gate is not like other village gates in the Northern region that have attics on the roof with arched roofs. This village gate is just a house with two gable roofs located right on the road to the village.

Also in Mong Phu village, people built Mong Phu communal house in 1684 and still preserved it today. This is a typical communal house for traditional Vietnamese communal houses. Because the communal house yard is lower than the surrounding ground, on rainy days, water flows into the yard and then drains through two drain pipes on both sides, forming the shape of two dragon whiskers.

5. When is the best time to visit Duong Lam ancient village?

You can visit Duong Lam ancient village at any time of the year. However, if you want to fully admire the beauty of this ancient village, you should choose to go during the rice harvest season around May, June or January of the lunar calendar, which is the annual festival season.

• When coming to Duong Lam ancient village during the festival season, you can participate in folk games such as blindfolded duck catching, chess, cockfighting, tug of war, … with the bustling drum sound and the unforgettable joyful and bustling atmosphere.
• From the 1st to the 10th of the first lunar month every year, the communal house will hold a spring festival with rituals of offering chickens, pigs, palanquin processions, … and folk games such as chess, human chess, cockfighting, blindfolded duck catching, …
• At the end of the year, Ba Vi National Park is painted in bright yellow by wild sunflowers. So you can combine going to Duong Lam and Ba Vi on the same day.

6. How to get to Duong Lam ancient village?

Located right on the outskirts of Hanoi, the road to Duong Lam ancient village is also extremely easy and convenient.

• Bus: this is the safest and most economical means of transportation. To go from Hanoi to Duong Lam ancient village, you can take bus routes number 77 (Ha Dong – Son Tay), number 71 (My Dinh – Son Tay) or number 70 (Kim Ma – Son Tay). After arriving at the Son Tay bus station, take a taxi or motorbike taxi to Duong Lam ancient village.
• Coach: Coach is also a reasonable choice if you want to go to Duong Lam ancient village. You can take the My Dinh – Phu Tho bus route, which is extremely convenient and has many trips continuously, only about 1 hour and 15 minutes for a new trip.
• Motorbike or personal car: If you want to be free about time as well as proactive in your sightseeing schedule, you can go by personal means. You just need to move in the direction of Thang Long Avenue, turn right at Hoa Lac intersection, continue on Highway 21 through Son Loc, go a little further and you will see the sign to the ancient village. Or you can follow Highway 32 to Son Tay town, then turn left at the intersection with Highway 21 to enter the ancient village. You can find it very easy on the google map here.

7. Sightseeings at Duong Lam ancient village

7.1 Mong Phu ancient village gate

Before entering Duong Lam ancient village, you will have to go through Mong Phu village gate. People built this village gate in 1833 with arched architecture and laterite layer bearing the architectural culture of the Le dynasty.

Next to the gate is a banyan tree over 300 years old, providing shade for people to rest. This scene creates a truly peaceful, ancient landscape imbued with the soul of the Vietnamese countryside.

7.2 Mong Phu Communal House

Built in 1684, Mong Phu Communal House’s architecture includes Nghi Mon, communal house yard, Dai Dinh building in the middle and Huu Mac and Ta Mac buildings on both sides. This architectural style is the Cong style that you commonly see in previous feudal dynasties. Inside the communal house, there are still many ancient horizontal lacquered boards and parallel sentences that are hundreds of years old.

7.3 Duong Lam Ancient Well

Like banyan trees and communal houses, wells are considered the soul of many Vietnamese villages. When traveling to Duong Lam ancient village, you can see many ancient wells. The water here is very clear and is also where people get water for daily use. After hundreds of years, the ancient wells in Duong Lam village are still intact and extremely sturdy.

The ancient wells in the village are all located in cool places, near pagodas, communal houses or the center of the village so that people can conveniently get water.

7.4 Giang Van Minh Temple

Located in Mong Phu village, Giang family temple is a historical relic built during the reign of King Tu Duc to commemorate the merits of Giang Van Minh. He was sent to China by King Le Than Tong and was ready to respond to the king and the Ming Dynasty to protect the honor of the Vietnamese people.

Today, the temple is not only an attractive destination for sightseeing, learning about history and culture, but also a place to educate the younger generation about patriotism.

7.5 Phung Hung Temple

To commemorate and pay tribute to this hero, many Phung Hung temples have been built across the country. Although established in many places, the temple in Duong Lam village has the largest scale and a very unique architectural style including Dai Bai, Ta – Huu Mac and Hau Cung.

Phung Hung Communal House in Duong Lam Ancient Village is not only an architectural work of historical value, but also a sacred place to commemorate and burn incense for him.

7.6 Ngo Quyen Temple and Tomb

Only about 500m from Phung Hung Temple. The Ngo Quyen Temple and Tomb complex was built on Cam Hill, in front of which is a field and Hum lagoon flowing into Tich River. The temple includes a place of worship, a main hall, a stele house, and a harem. About 100m below the temple is the tomb of King Ngo Quyen, built in the shape of 4 roofs on a high pedestal and surrounded by walls. This is where local people and tourists commemorate the great contributions of King Ngo Quyen.

7.7 Mia Pagoda

Dy is a spiritual tourist destination that owns the most beautiful ancient statues in Vietnam. The architecture of Mia Pagoda includes the three-door gate, the main hall, the upper hall, the ancestral house, and adjacent corridors modeled after the letter Muc. This is a sacred temple with an airy, quiet space, very suitable for visitors to find a peaceful place away from the worldly world.

7.8 The Village Café with a rustic feel

After a journey to visit the ancient village of Duong Lam, the Village Café will be an ideal stop for you. Although it is just a small roadside cafe with rustic, old wooden tables and chairs, the space of the shop is very peaceful, quiet, nostalgic and the drinks are also very cheap. This place has become a favorite address for tourists when visiting Duong Lam.

7.9 Mong Phu Parish Church

The church was started to be built in 1954, from afar the church stands out among hundreds of ancient roofs of Duong Lam. The church is newer than the pure Vietnamese ancient houses, the religious features cannot be compared to the ancient features that have gone through the years of Duong Lam. But when talking about the history of Catholicism in Vietnam, Mong Phu is indeed worthy of praise. It is possible that the ancientness of Duong Lam has created the ancientness of this parish.

8. Activities and experiences in Duong Lam ancient village

8.1 Checking in Mong Phu village gate & Duong Lam ancient village flower garden

Mong Phu village gate and Duong Lam ancient village flower garden are considered one of the check-in locations in Hanoi with a “nostalgic tone” that cannot be missed.

Mong Phu village gate is built in the style of Thuong gia ha mon, meaning “below is the gate, above is the house”. The village gate bears the strong imprint of the cultural architecture of the Le dynasty. In the past, the village gate was a resting place for grandmothers and mothers when they returned from the market or farmers and patrollers. This is not only a place to stop and rest but also an ideal check-in location for tourists when visiting Duong Lam ancient village.

Duong Lam ancient village flower garden attracts visitors with its outstanding colors and fragrant scent like a fairy garden. The garden is filled with the colors of butterfly flowers, mustard flowers, etc. competing to show off their colors. Besides the bright colors of the flowers, there is a breathtaking view of the hills and green rice fields. All of this gives you the feeling of being lost in a fairy world of peaceful childhood memories.

8.2 Immersing yourself in the nostalgic beauty of Duong Lam ancient village

Visiting Duong Lam ancient village, you will feel like you are returning to your childhood with the typical features of an ancient village. With wells, banyan trees, communal houses, winding village roads, pagodas, ancient houses, small alleys, walls plastered with mud or built with ancient red bricks, … Today’s country has changed a lot but the ancient village of Duong Lam is still intact there as a peaceful and nostalgic ancient town.

8.3 Visiting traditional ancient houses

In Duong Lam village, there are 956 traditional houses, including Mong Phu, Dong Sang, and Cam Thinh villages with 239, 441, and 165 houses respectively. They built these houses a long time ago, around 1649, 1703, 1850, etc.

The houses are all 5 or 7 rooms, built with traditional materials such as bamboo, xoan wood, laterite, tiles, terracotta bricks, sawdust or soil… The house grounds all have spacious gardens and are divided into many areas: main house, side house, kitchen, yard, garden, barn, well, covered gate…

Some of the most beautiful and famous ancient houses in Duong Lam include Mr. Nguyen Van Hung’s house, Mr. Ha Nguyen Huyen’s ancient house, Ms. Duong Lan’s ancient house, Mr. The’s ancient house, Mrs. Dien’s ancient house, etc.

9. Specialties when visiting Duong Lam ancient village

Coming to Duong Lam, you will not only visit ancient architectural works and explore unique traditional culture. But you will also enjoy countless unique delicacies, imbued with the flavor of the Northern Vietnamese countryside.

• Sugarcane chicken: a type of chicken with small legs, yellow feathers, when boiled, the meat is white, the skin is yellow and crispy. In the past, people used this a precious dish only to pay tribute to the king or used in village festivals. When traveling to Duong Lam ancient village, do not forget to enjoy this specialty dish.
• Roasted pork: famous not only for its distinct flavor but also for its extremely unique and sophisticated preparation. The highlight of this delicious dish is the young guava leaves that they chopped and marinated them with the meat. Enjoying a piece of meat that is crispy on the outside, sweet and soft on the inside. Is it fatty and fragrant with the scent of guava is wonderful, right?
• Sweet soup: made from steamed green beans, then add sugar, use large chopsticks to stir well until the beans are crushed and smooth. Sweet soup is more delicious when eaten cold, eat each small piece, sip some green tea. And you will feel the sweet and fragrant aroma spreading very pleasantly.

Even more specialties

• Rice sauce: is a rustic, popular dish made from rice, soybeans, salt, water from the village well, …People used soy sauce to dip vegetables, fried tofu, braised fish, braised meat, … for an irresistible aroma and taste.
• Sesame candy, sausage, peanuts: candy made from rustic ingredients such as peanuts, sesame, sugar, malt, … Sitting and sipping a couple of candies with a glass of slightly bitter green tea is truly delicious.
• Banh te: Banh te is available everywhere, but in Duong Lam it has many differences compared to other regions. Here, people wrapped the cake in long, thin dong leaves, the filling is spread evenly along the leaf. When enjoying it, the cake has a very distinctive, chewy and fragrant taste.

10 Accommodation when visiting Duong Lam ancient village

When traveling to Duong Lam ancient village, you can refer to some of the following accommodations:

10.1 Resorts:

• Tomodachi Retreat Lang Mit. Address: Co Dong, Son Tay, Hanoi.
• Thao Vien Resort. Address: Trung Son Tram, Son Tay, Hanoi.
• Quang Tay Resort. Address: Trung Son Tram, Son Tay, Hanoi.
• G9 Legend View Resort. Address: Dong Mo Dam, Son Dong, Son Tay, Hanoi.

10.2 Hotels:

• Bach Duong Son Tay Hotel. Address: No. 417, Da Bac Street, Xuan Khanh, Xuan Khanh Ward, Son Tay, Hanoi.
• Dong Thanh Hotel. Address: 10 Hoang Dieu, Phu Thinh Ward, Son Tay, Hanoi.
• Dong Mo Hotel. Address: Tan Phu Village, Son Dong, Son Tay, Hanoi.
• Son Tay Hotel. Address: 5 Chua Thong, Son Loc Ward, Son Tay, Hanoi.
• Lam Ky Hotel. Address: 119 Quang Trung Street, Quang Trung Ward, Son Tay, Hanoi.

10.3 Guesthouses:

• Hoang Hai Guesthouse. Address: 314 National Highway 21, Son Loc Ward, Son Tay Town, Hanoi.
• An Phat Guesthouse. Address: 124 Doc Da Bac, Xuan Khanh Ward, Son Tay, Hanoi.
• Phuong Uyen Guesthouse. Address: Xuan Khanh Ward, Son Tay, Hanoi.
• Ngoc Ha Guesthouse. Address: 476 Chua Thong, Trung Hung, Son Tay, Hanoi.
• Binh Minh Guesthouse. Address: 23 Chua Thong, Son Loc Ward, Son Tay, Hanoi.
• Quang Huy Guesthouse. Address: QL32, Duong Lam, Son Tay, Hanoi.

Duong Lam ancient village is a place that preserves the unique traditional cultural features of the countryside in Northern Vietnam. Ancient stories and profound cultural values ​​are still passed down and preserved.

Not only a famous tourist destination in Vietnam, the ancient village in Duong Lam is a vivid image of the connection between the past and the present. Contact Origin Vietnam – a professional tour operator. We will accompany you on your journey to discover the Hanoi tour, so you can feel the vitality of this cultural heritage right in the capital Hanoi. Please drop an email to ruby@originvietnam.com or call direct to +84829098686 for All things need to know before travel to Duong Lam ancient village.