Beneath this old banyan tree stands Lieu Giai Communal Hall Temple. This national monument preserves stories of Hanoi’s past. It is located in Lieu Giai ward in Ba Dinh district.
Lieu Giai Communal Hall Temple is dedicated to Thanh Mau and Princess Ngoc Nuong. Legends tell of Ly Nghi. She was an official during King Tran Nhan Tong’s reign. One day she bathed in Bach Nhan Lake. A white snake appeared and wrapped around her. The following year, she gave birth to Ngoc Nuong.
Ngoc Nuong grew into a beautiful and intelligent young woman. At 18 she watched the moon from a boat at Lieu Giai camp. A thunderstorm arose and a large snake took her to the Water Kingdom. Her parents built a temple beside Bach Nhan Lake now called Dong Nuoc Lake to honor her.
During Tran Anh Tong’s reign Mongol invaders attacked. Ngoc Nuong helped the king defeat the enemy. The king gave villagers funds to repair the Lieu Giai Communal Hall Temple. He ordained her “Eternal blood and food, Du Quoc Dong has not written, Female white tiger, Thuy Tinh Ton Linh princess, Ho second brother one death”.
Kings Vinh Khanh, Canh Hung and others also honored her. They gave her the title Thuy Tinh Princess of Superior Court. Lieu Giai Communal Hall Temple faces southwest. Renovations have given it the Nguyen Dynasty architectural style.
The Lieu Giai Communal Hall Temple complex forms the shape of the letter “Cong”. It features a Co pavilion and a Cau pavilion. The Thanh Mau temple is in the middle. The Mau Cuu Trung Thien pavilion is on the right.
In 1946 during the anti-French period colonialists suspected revolutionaries were hiding here. They fired mortars causing damage to the Lieu Giai Communal Hall Temple.
The festival of Holy Mother Ngoc Nuong is held on the 17th day of the 8th lunar month. The festival honoring tutelary god Hoang Phuc Trung is on January 12th. The Ministry of Culture and Information recognized Lieu Giai Communal Hall Temple as a national historical artistic and architectural relic on December 27 1990.
The unique artistic value of Lieu Giai Communal Hall Temple is seen in its carvings. These carved wooden artifacts include horizontal inscribed boards and couplets. Decorative door frames and a worship throne enhance its beauty. Also worth seeing is a Bat Buu set or eight precious worshiping objects lacquered in gold and crimson
Local people come to Lieu Giai Communal Hall Temple to worship. They commemorate the merits of Bach Ma and Linh Lang Genie. With its traditional culture Lieu Giai Communal Hall Temple attracts domestic and international visitors.