Hai Duong is on the Red River Delta, 58km from Hanoi, 45km from Haiphong, and 80km from Halong Bay. The province lies on railway and National Highway No.5: Hanoi – Hai Duong – Haiphong. The average temperature is 23.4ºC.  Long-standing history bequeaths hundreds of cultural, historic relics. This province is proud of traditional handicraft villages.

Hai Duong Highlights:

++ Con Son Tourist Site

Location In Cong Hoa Commune, Chi Linh District, Hai Duong Province, about 70km from Hanoi City.
Characteristics: The highlights of this site are the pagoda, a tower and well-known remains pertaining to national history, as well as the natural beauty of the mountainous landscape, pine forest and stream.

Con Son Mountain and Pagoda
Con Son Mountain looks like a resting lion. With a shrine on the top, its 238m northern ridge adjoins Ngu NhacMountain. Con Son borders U Bo Mountain and a valley with bamboo hedges to the west. Next to it is the 72-peak Phuong Hoang (phoenix) mountain range with its vast pine forests, sparkling streams, rugged cliffs and ancient towers and pagodas.

Con Son is also known as Tu Phuc or Hun. In the 10th century, Dinh Bo Linh, who would later become future King Dinh Tien Hoang, from Hoa Lu in present-day Ninh Binh Province rose up against 12 warlords competing for power. Pursued by Dinh Bo Linh’s forces, Pham Phong At, one of the warlords who ruled the northeast region, fled to ConSon Mountain to hide together with his entourage. Following the advice from his subordinate, Dinh Bo Linh set the forests on fire to smoke out the warlord, who had to surrender and was captured.

Located at the foot of Con Son Mountain is Con Son Pagoda built at the end of the 13th century. The pagoda was one of the three centers of the Buddhist Truc Lam Trinity under the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400). The pagoda was extended in 1329 and underwent several restorations during the 17th and 18th centuries and in the last few decades. But the pagoda’s slipper-shaped tiles and stone pedestals from the Tran Dynasty are still preserved.
Gieng Ngoc ( Pearl Well)
Gieng Ngoc, or Pearl Well, is located on the side of Ky Lan Mountain at the foot of a tower. Legend has it that in the full moon night of the seventh lunar month, Huyen Quang, one of the founders of Truc Lam Zen Buddhism, sleeping in his room at Con Son Pagoda dreamt of seeing a shiny pearl on the side of the mountain. He wanted to get closer to scrutinize the pearl, but the sound of the pagoda’s bell woke him up. However, he could not stop thinking about his dream. So together with his assistants, Huyen Quang went to the mountain. There he found a well containing fresh and cool water. When the monk returned to the pagoda, he held a ceremony to thank the deities for the precious source of water. He also made the well deeper. Since then, the Pearl Well’s water has been offered in rituals at the pagoda.

++ Am Bach Van and Ban Co Tien
Am Bach Van (white cloud temple) stands on the flat top of Con Son Mountain next to Ban Co Tien (fairy chessboard) and several other large flagstones called “immortal chessboards” by local residents. Six hundred rocky steps lead up to the chessboards.

According to legend, visitors from Kinh Bac (northern citadel) arrived in Con Son on autumn afternoon. After offering incense and enjoying the scenery, the visitors stayed at the pagoda. Early the next morning, they went to the mountain to play chess and drink wine. On the way up the mountain they heard chatter and laughter. But when they reached the temple on the mountain’s top no one was there, just a board with chess pieces showing an interrupted game. The visitors thought that some heavenly deities must have ridden clouds to Con Son Mountain to play chess and hurried back to heaven when somebody approached the top of the mountain.

++ Con Son Stream and Thach Ban
Aside from these magic places, Con Son boasts many pine tree forests, some having grown for several centuries, and several smaller forests of bamboo, myrtle and peony. When the spring comes, it looks as if Con Son wears a flower dress.

Gently flowing all year round, Con Son Stream is also a well-known tourist destination. Locals call the two large flat rocks on the stream’s banks Thach Ban (stone table). A legend says Nguyen Trai (1380-1442), a politician and poet under the post-Le Dynasty (1427-1789), used to sit on these rocks, composing poems and pondering national issues.

++ Nguyen Trai Temple
The temple was dedicated to Nguyen Trai, built at Con Son in December 2000 and inaugurated in 2002 in celebration of the 600th birthday anniversary of Nguyen Trai.

The constructions of the temple cover an area of 10,000m². The main temple stands at the foot of To Son Moutain, flanked by two mountains An Lac and Ngu Nhac. To its right is Con Son Stream. Inside the temple there are also the right and left ceremonial halls, inside and outside gates, stele house, the urn for burning votive offerings and NghiaLake. The temple is a token of gratitude of the Vietnamese people to Nguyen Trai, the World Cultural Celebrity. 

++ Kiep Bac Temple

Location: In Hung Dao Commune, Chi Linh District, Hai Duong Province.
Characteristics: This area was the hideout and residence of national hero Tran Hung Dao in 13th century.

Located approximately 80km from Hanoi and 15km from Con Son, Kiep Bac is in fact the junction of Van Yen (KiepVillage) and Duoc Son (Bac Village). It is located in a rich valley surrounded by the Nui Rong Mountains. The surroundings give Kiep Bac a secretive, poetic, and dreamy quality.

In the 13th century, the hideout and residence of national hero Tran Hung Dao, the commander of the Resistance troops in the war against the Yuan - Mongol aggressors, were located in this area. A temple was built in the beginning of the 14th century in the centre of Kiep Bac valley. In the temple, bronze statues of Tran Hung Dao, his wife, his two daughters, Pham Ngu Lao, Nam Tao, and Bac Dau, as well as tablets for the cult of his four sons still remain.
Every year, the Kiep Bac Temple Festival is celebrated on the 20th day of the 8th lunar month, the anniversary of the death of Tran Hung Dao. 

++ Stork Island

Location: In Chi Lang Nam Commune, Thanh Mien District, Hai Duong Province.
Characteristics: It’s home mainly to a mere nine varieties of storks, Chinese pond herons, jabirus, buff-backed and grey herons, and the grey, blue and black bitterns.

To the growing list of places in Vietnam that claims to have discovered eco-tourism, add the name of Dao Co (StorkIsland). It will have to take its chances for the claim along with all the others but certainly they won’t be lessened by its celebrated Island of Storks.

It nestles in Chi Lang Nam Commune and has been quietly pulling bird-watchers - around 15,000 annually, to an out-of-the way part of Hai Duong Province - since the early 1990. That’s a modest figure but local tourist officials are hoping to spread its attractions wider without trampling on the very nature that attracts visitors in the first place. Welcome to eco-tourism - welcome to the problem.

Dao Co, one writer enthused "rises like a jewel blessed by nature" in the middle of the 2,832km² in Chi Lang Nam. Few ornithologists - those birdwatchers - would disagree. It’s home mainly to a mere nine varieties of storks, Chinese pond herons, jabirus, buff-backed and grey herons, and the grey, blue and black bitterns, stopping off on their way to China, Myanmar, India and Nepal. But don’t forget the common teal, wild ducks, moor hens, the pelicans or the snipes - all faithfully recorded in the Vietnam’s nature bible, the Red Book. But it’s this time of year that most excites visitors and locals as spring heralds the arrival of tens of thousands of storks. Local experts somehow seem to have deduced that each flock of storks numbers 70, arriving in clusters as night falls to take up residence on their island.

In 1996, the Vietnam office of the UN Development Programme proposed turning Dao Co into an environmental education centre in a two-year, a project which would see planting of bamboo trees and introducing teaching programmes to raise awareness of environmental protection. There are plans to make Dao Co part of an eco-trail starting from Hanoi, winding through Hien Street to Stork Island and on to Con Son, Kiep Bac and Haiphong, and back to the capital. 

++ Chi Linh Star Golf & Country Club

Location: Sao Do Town, Chi Linh District, Hai Duong Province, 48km from Hanoi along the road going to Halong Bay.
Characteristic:Chi Linh Star Golf & Country Club is an international standard Golf and Country Club which is in the center of the strategic Economic development and Tourism triangle of the North of Vietnam: Hanoi - Haiphong- Halong (Quang Ninh). Chi Linh Star Golf & Country Club is an ideal destination for golfing tourists. 

The Chi Linh Star Golf Course features a 36-hole golfing challenge, with every hole constructed and designed to international standard. "The Best Place To Play" begins with nine holes, opened in November 2003.

The 160ha site on which the course is being constructed lies within a beautiful valley, surrounded by rolling forest hills, and nestles beside a large lake complete with rolling creeks and natural water flowing from the surrounding area. 11 holes over 36 have water risks (6 over water and 5 touching water). The hotel of golf club features 90 deluxe rooms and suites, two restaurants, conference facilities, resort spa services, tennis court, swimming pool and spa, 24 hour room service, nightclub and two bars.

A visit to Chi Linh will no doubt leave a lasting impression, whether it be for a great round of golf, or simply having made the visit to a truly special place, transformed with care and attention to every detail.

 Travel Guides in 67cities and Provinces of Vietnam:

Hanoi|Hochiminh(Saigon)|Halong|Hue|Hoian|Haiphong|Catba|Hoabinh|Caobang|laocai|Maichau|
Sapa|Sonla|Dienbienphu|Thainguyen|Phutho|Babe-Backan|Hagiang|langson|Bacninh|Hatay|
Haiduong|NinhBinh|Thaibinh|Quangninh|DongHoi|QuangBinh|Quangtri|Phuyen|Phutho|Thanhhoa|
Nghean|Hatinh|Danang|Taynguyen|Kontum|Gialai|Daknong|Daklak|Dalat|BinhDinh|Nhatrang|
PhanThiet|Muine|Vungtau|KienGiang|Phuquoc|Tayninh|Vinhlong|Travinh|Dongthap|Tiengiang|
Angiang|Cantho|Bentre|Camau|