Yen Tu heritage complex "survives the storm"

Significantly affected by storm Yagi , the relics belonging to the Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac Heritage Complex in the three localities of Uong Bi, Dong Trieu, Quang Yen of the province suffered certain damages. The most serious of these was the green tree system located in the relic sites and Yen Tu national forest...

A large Bodhi tree in the yard of An Sinh Temple was uprooted by a storm and is being pruned and replanted. Photo taken on September 12, provided by local authorities.

According to the leader of the Yen Tu National Monument and Forest Management Board, after storm Yagi, many damaged relic sites in Yen Tu were quickly counted and specifically assessed by the unit.

In particular, most of the areas from Trinh Pagoda, Suoi Tam, Cam Thuc, Lan Pagoda, Giai Oan Pagoda, Hoa Yen, Mot Mai Pagoda to Bao Sai Pagoda had many large trees broken, such as pine, bodhi, red pine, xoan... Especially, the ancient pine road from Giai Oan - Duong Tung - Hon Ngoc area had 3 ancient pine trees uprooted, 3 trees had broken tops.

Infrastructure at the relic site was also affected, such as broken signs, blown-off tile and corrugated iron roofs of some houses, landslides of the slope on the road to the pagoda, peeling roads, broken protective fences, damaged electrical systems...

Fortunately, the pagodas and towers of Yen Tu were only slightly affected. The most serious damage was to the Cam Thuc pagoda area, where part of the Tam Quan tile roof was blown off and some stone worship objects at the Quan Am statue in the pagoda yard were damaged. The Yen Tu National Forest suffered heavy losses because many forest trees had their tops broken and crushed...

In addition, pilgrimage routes also suffered certain damage, large trees fell across the road in many areas. For example, the stone bridge at the walkway across Giai Oan stream was completely collapsed along with part of the wooden bridge here. The route to the relic site from National Highway 18 to Ha Kieu bus station, which used to be impressive with rows of Bodhi trees, Bauhinia flowers... after the storm, many trees were broken, some points were eroded, subsided... The southern boundary from Lan pagoda to forest protection station No. 3 (bordering Trang Luong commune, Dong Trieu town) has some landslides, hindering patrolling, management and protection of the forest...

A large tree that fell across the road was removed to clear the way for pilgrimages to Yen Tu. Photo provided by the unit.

Located in a coastal area heavily affected by Typhoon Yagi, the Bach Dang historical site also suffered a lot of damage. Mr. Pham Chien Thang, Head of the Bach Dang Relic Site Management Board, said: The architecture of the site was not much affected but still leaked and had to be treated. Trees in the campus were scattered, such as trees in the ironwood forest were twisted, dozens of large trees were uprooted, broken tops, broken branches... The damage to the trees cannot be calculated in money.

After the storm, we pulled branches, swept leaves, and cleaned for several days. At the same time, we set up the main trees to prevent them from falling into the temple. We quickly started trimming and re-establishing to save the large, old trees to create a beautiful landscape for the relic. The restoration work was quite difficult because of the lack of suitable machinery and equipment due to the overloaded situation after the storm. The 20th of the 8th lunar month is the death anniversary of Saint Tran, the plan has been prepared but we will probably only do the ceremony and not the festival.

Similar to Yen Tu and Bach Dang, the Tran Dynasty relic site in Dong Trieu mainly suffered from the collapse of large, beautiful trees. Many relics are structures with corrugated iron roofs, cement fibro , and tile roofs that were also blown away, had their roofs blown off (like Ngoc Thanh pagoda), and then had their walls collapsed... Therefore, the management units coordinated with the locality and the local armed forces to prune branches, try to replant some large trees, and clean up the relics after the storm.

Many large trees at the Tran Hung Dao Temple - Vua Ba Temple (Bach Dang Historical Site) were rebuilt after Typhoon Yagi. Photo provided by the unit.

Explaining why the ancient architecture of the relics is less affected by storms, Mr. Ngo Dinh Dung, Head of the Department of Culture and Information of Quang Yen Town, commented: The traditional architectures were built by our ancestors very carefully and solidly, the house building techniques and structures are very durable against storms, and the roof tiles are multi-layered. Therefore, like in Quang Yen, most of the relic roofs were only partially blown off by storms, the upper layer peeled off, and some of the roof's roofs and decorative animals were blown away... Quang Yen issued a document on September 10 on urgently overcoming the consequences of storms on the relics in the area. Accordingly, it requires localities and relic management boards to clean up the environment, reinforce, brace, and temporarily handle to prevent leaks, prevent collapses, and protect artifacts, antiques, and worship objects in the relics. Restore religious activities and sightseeing at routes, tourist attractions, and relics to serve the needs of people and tourists...

Mr. Ngo Dinh Dung said that the funding for reinforcement, on-site treatment, repair and replacement will come from the relic's donations and socialized sources. Quang Yen set a goal that by September 15, Bach Dang relic can operate normally and welcome visitors again.

Being highly proactive, the Yen Tu National Forest and Monument Management Board, along with the damage assessment, also made specific proposals and recommendations for timely repair of damaged areas, such as: Stone bridge at Giai Oan stream, Tay Yen Tu ticket office and Giai Oan area, power system at forest protection stations, overcoming landslides... In recent days, the locality and units of Uong Bi city have promptly mobilized forces to clean up, handle fallen trees and landslides, free up pilgrimage routes, and at the same time restore cleanliness and natural beauty to the heritage.

The service area at the foot of Yen Tu mountain was also strongly affected by the storm, from the tree system being broken, power outages, water, telecommunications, flooding in some areas... The business operating here, Tung Lam Development Joint Stock Company, proactively prepared early, quickly overcame the damage after the storm, maintained the quality of service to serve tourists even during and after the storm, and has thoughtfully welcomed many domestic and international delegations to Yen Tu so far.

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