Bao Ha Temple - sacred temple worshiping the "God of National Defense" in Lao Cai

Coming to Bao Ha temple, people often pray for good luck and coolness. But in recent years, many people have spread word of mouth that his lottery, lottery... requests are very sacred. There are people who believe but there are also people who doubt. However, it can be seen that many people came to pay their respects to him. 

Bao Ha Temple is a sacred temple worshiping the "God of National Defense" in Lao Cai. This place is located in the Hoang Bay National Guard relic complex, recognized as a famous heritage. Every year, both domestic and foreign tourists come for spiritual tourism as well as to offer incense at the temple. Coming to Bao Ha temple, visitors can not only explore the ancient beauty of the temple but also enjoy the extremely beautiful natural scenery.

Bao Ha Temple is located in Bao Ha commune, Bao Yen district, Lao Cai province. The temple is about 60km south of Lao Cai city center. The temple is located in the Hoang Bay National Guard relic complex along with Co Tan An temple. The temple is located at the foot of Cam Hill, on the left bank of the Red River.

According to folk tales, Bao Ha temple is a place of worship for a hero named Nguyen Hoang Bay. For that reason, Bao Ha temple is also called Mr. Hoang Bay temple. In November 1997, the temple was ranked at national level by the state. This is a big mark in the history of the Holy Guard Hoang Bay, a famous spiritual tourist destination.  

To visit Bao Sa Pagoda, you can go by road, waterway or railway. The temple is only about 800 meters from Bao Ha train station. Therefore, getting here is quite convenient by train, which many tourists choose. If departing from Hanoi, visitors take the LC1 train departing from Hanoi Station at 22:05 or the LC3 train departing from Hanoi Station at 06:10. The distance from Hanoi to Bao Ha temple is more than 220 km. If you travel by private car, you can follow the Noi Bai - Lao Cai highway. Then go straight to intersection 279, turn down and look at the road sign, continue for about 1 km to arrive. Alternatively, you can take a bus or sleeper bus to Bao Ha.

History books record that, at the end of the Le Dynasty in 1740 - 1786, the entire Quy Hoa region, especially Chau Thuy Vi and Chau Van Ban, were always attacked and harassed by Yunnan invaders, causing chaos and destruction among the people. miserable and miserable. Seeing the situation of the country being invaded by such a serious border war, the court could not sit idly by even though the bureaucracy was exhausted. The Le Dynasty nominated a 7th general named Nguyen to defend the Quy Hoa region.  At that time, he sent his troops to advance along the Red River and chase away the invaders to liberate the Khau Ban area, Bao Ha today. Through the arduous and fierce process of fighting against the enemy, Mr. Hoang Bay mobilized all militiamen everywhere at that time to recruit local leaders to hold a ceremony to welcome the green-shirted Dao, Tho, and Nung people to establish the village. They gathered together to build and strengthen the defense lines as well as strengthen the citadel. 

However, the Northern invaders do not seem to stop there. They continued to send troops to invade our people with the leader Ta Tu Vang Pet. Mr. Hoang Bay once again organized the fight against the enemy. However, the war was uneven and he heroically sacrificed for his country's independence and borders. Many people say that at that time, his body drifted to Bao Ha and then washed ashore on its own in a clear sky. The local people felt so sorry for him that they buried him on the slopes of Cam Hill. 

After that, Mr. Lu Van Cu of the Tay ethnic group built a temple to commemorate Mr. Hoang Bay's contributions as well as for people to come every year to burn incense and pay tribute to their roots. During the Nguyen Dynasty, he was given the title Tran An Hien Liet and ordained as Than Ve Quoc. Later, descendants here contributed to building a temple called Ong Temple to commemorate the Guardian God. And gradually over the years, when this place became famous for tourists everywhere, the name Bao Ha temple was born. Famous General Hoang Bay entered the spiritual world of the legendary Vietnamese people and became a National Guard God Hoang Bay in the Vietnamese community.

The main festival at Bao Ha temple is held on the 17th day of the 7th lunar month every year. This is also the death anniversary of General Hoang Bay. There will be two parts, the ceremony part and the festival part. The ceremony takes place with mandatory rituals of procession, offering incense, worshiping gods, and offering flowers. As for the festival, people compete in sports activities or traditional cultural activities here. 

Bao Ha temple festival requires fasting. So if you are a tourist visiting the incense, you should prepare vegetarian food when coming to worship. Normally, the vegetarian foods brought are beer, wine, soft drinks, mineral water, betel and areca nuts, cakes, sticky rice with sweet soup... and votive offerings. Besides skin, many tourists come here with wishes for fortune and children, they often buy purple horses, clothes, flowers... to offer to the Guardian God. 

Coming to Bao Ha temple, people often pray for good luck and coolness. But in recent years, many people have spread word of mouth that his lottery, lottery... requests are very sacred. There are people who believe but there are also people who doubt. However, it can be seen that many people came to pay their respects to him. Local people also explained that this was borrowing money from him and they had to pay him back at the end of the year.  Above all, everyone must be self-centered. The offerings offered to him at Bao Ha temple can be more or less depending on each person's life conditions, but a bright and kind heart is the most decisive factor. Besides, we also direct ourselves to do many useful and good things for the community and society.

Bao Ha Temple has many festivals, of which the main holidays are: Thuong Nguyen Festival (first full moon), Quan Tuan Tranh party (May 25 of the lunar calendar), Hoang Bay's death anniversary (July 17 of the lunar calendar). ). lunar calendar), late Tet (New Year's Eve). In addition to festivals and weekdays (especially in the spring), tourists from all over often gather here to burn incense, pray for peace, and pray for good luck. Common ceremonies when going to Bao Ha temple include: Salty ceremony (sticky rice, chicken); wine, beer, soft drinks, mineral water, fresh flowers, delicious fruits, cakes, candy (peanut candy), tea, cigarettes; gold leaf, incense, candles, incense, lamps, bare money, betel and areca; yellow leaves, purple horses... 

Currently, Bao Ha Temple will continue to be invested in expanding, upgrading and building spiritual, service and auxiliary works. Aiming to become a spiritual tourism center of the region with a scale of 100 to 300 hectares. We can name the relics and scenic spots around the pagoda such as: Pho Rang station, Phuc Khanh temple (Nghi Lang ancient citadel - where there are vestiges of Lord Bau), Co Tan An temple. 

Hopefully through the article about Bao Ha Temple, you will understand more about the spiritual and cultural values ​​of Lao Cai locality. Bao Ha Temple is a sacred temple, loved and revered by locals and tourists. Besides its spiritual value, the temple also possesses the unique traditional architectural beauty of the Tay and Nung people. Hopefully in the future, Bao Ha Temple will continue to be preserved and passed down to future generations.

Thank you for your choiceiguide.aito accompany your exciting experience!