Across the Cau Bay river stands Cau Bay village. A quiet place it was until August 1945. Before that it was part of Co Linh commune Gia Lam district Thuan An province Bac Ninh province. This was from 1831 when it lay within the boundaries of the old Thang Long citadel.
Cau Bay village nestled beside Cau Bay river. This river is a branch of the Nghia Tu river. Its source is O Cach Le Mat now in Viet Hung ward Long Bien district. The river flows through villages now in Gia Thuy and Thach Ban wards. It joins the Dai Bi river a tributary of the Hong river. This flows through Da Ton and Kieu Ke communes.
Along the river stands a stone bridge Thach Cau. It has twelve pillars. A Thai princess is said to have commissioned it in the early eighteenth century. Cau Bay village was also known as Thach Cau village. A stone inscription by scholar Pham Kham in 1738 supports this.
Legend tells of two children blessed by a king. One child died in Ngo village the other in Cau Bay village. They are venerated by both villages. Later two brothers who were relatives of Dinh Tien Hoang came to Cau Bay. They were said to have come from Van Giang district Hung Yen province. The brothers sought a place to settle. They were blessed by the king’s children. The elder brother settled in Cau Bay the younger in Ngo village. This strengthened the bond between the two villages.
Cau Bay’s village festival is held on February 10. However preparations begin on December 10. The village doesn’t raise pigs. Villagers buy them from other families. Each family provides a piglet yearly. By December 25 the pigs are entrusted to the village elder. They are kept in a special pen. They are fed three meals of rice gruel and given clean straw bedding. For a month they are carefully looked after. On February 10 the pigs are collected. They are sacrificed. The meat is prepared. It is shared among the villagers. This festival recreates a historic practice. It reflects the bond between the villagers and Cau Bay village’s enduring spirit.