Yen Giang Stake-yard and Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Yen Giang Stake-yard

   Twice in Vietnamese history, the tide at the mouth of the Bạch Đằng river decided the fate of the country. In 938, Ngô Quyền defeated a Southern Han fleet by planting iron-tipped stakes in the riverbed, hidden at high tide, then luring the enemy ships upstream and waiting for the water to fall. In 1288, during the third Mongol invasion of Đại Việt, the general Trần Hưng Đạo used the same trick against the fleet of Kublai Khan's Yuan dynasty, trapping and destroying it. In the fields around Quảng Yên, archaeologists have found rows of those ancient wooden stakes, still standing in the mud, and the Yên Giang stake yard is one of the sites where you can see them preserved.

   Read the complete Yen Giang Stake-yard write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Yen Giang Stake-yard is where the day begins. Next is Chua Lan Pagoda.

2. 2. Chua Lan Pagoda

   The lowlands where the Bach Dang river meets the sea in northern Vietnam are a place of legends and battles, and the pagodas scattered across this landscape carry centuries of history. Chua Lan Pagoda stands in Quang Ninh province on the low ground south of Uong Bi, between the Yen Tu hills and the port of Haiphong, surrounded by rice fields, fishponds and villages. Like many rural pagodas in northern Vietnam, it is a place of worship, community and memory, with incense-filled halls, statues of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, and old trees in the courtyard. The region is associated with the Truc Lam school of Zen Buddhism, founded by the Tran dynasty king Tran Nhan Tong in the thirteenth century at nearby Yen Tu mountain.

   Read the complete Chua Lan Pagoda write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Chua Lan Pagoda comes up about 30 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster.

3. 3. Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster

   In 1293 the Vietnamese king Trần Nhân Tông, who had led his country to victory against two Mongol invasions, gave up his throne and became a monk. He retreated to the mountains of Yên Tử, east of Hanoi, and founded the Trúc Lâm, or Bamboo Forest, school of Zen Buddhism, a distinctly Vietnamese tradition that still flourishes today. In his final years he lived at a hermitage on the mountain of Ngọa Vân, and it was there that he died in 1308. The pagodas, stupas and relics scattered across the ridge form part of the complex of sites connected with Yên Tử and the Trúc Lâm school, which has recently been recognised by UNESCO.

   Read the complete Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 61 km into the recorded legs you reach Ngoa Van Hermitage Pagoda relic cluster. Next is back through Chua Lan Pagoda.

4. 4. back through Chua Lan Pagoda

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Chua Lan Pagoda write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Chua Lan Pagoda, late in the day. Next is Yen Giang Stake-yard.

5. 5. Yen Giang Stake-yard

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Yen Giang Stake-yard write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Yen Giang Stake-yard. That is the ride.