Deputy Prime Minister Lê Thành Long awards Special National Heritage Site Certificate for the Từ Lương Xâm Complex in Hải Phòng City. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Ngọc

HẢI PHÒNG — The Từ Lương Xâm Complex, a 1,087-year-old base of Ngô Quyền in Nam Hải Ward, Hải An District, Hải Phòng City, has been awarded with Special National Heritage Site status.

Deputy Prime Minister Lê Thành Long attended an event inaugurating the 2025 Từ Lương Xâm Traditional Festival, where he presented the Special National Heritage Site Certificate for the Từ Lương Xâm Complex to Hải Phòng authorities.

The site once served as the headquarters and food storage for Ngô Quyền during the victorious battle over the Southern Han army in the historic Battle of Bạch Đằng in 938AD. It is believed that Ngô Quyền chose this site to store supplies and set up a military base to oversee and command the Battle of Bạch Đằng.

Ngô Quyền led the people and troops to defeat the Southern Han forces in the ancient battle, ending over one thousand years of Northern domination.

The victory at Bạch Đằng in 938 is considered a turning point in Việt Nam's history of resisting foreign invaders, leading to the country's long-awaited independence.

After Ngô Quyền's death, the people of Lương Xâm village built a temple in his honour to commemorate the great national hero. The Từ Lương Xâm Complex, known as the base of Ngô Quyền, has become a spiritual and cultural gathering place for local residents and visitors from across the country.

The 2025 Từ Lương Xâm Traditional Festival in the Từ Lương Xâm Complex. Photo courtesy of baohaiphong.vn

Also making up part of the historical record at the Từ Lương Xâm Special National Heritage Site are 125 artefacts, relics and 25 royal decrees dating from 1522 to 1924 from the Lê, Mạc, Lê Trung Hưng, Tây Sơn and Nguyễn dynasties.

Notably, the site also preserves three stakes believed to be relics from the historic Battle of Bạch Đằng in 938.

The Từ Lương Xâm Complex was recognised as a National Historic and Cultural Monument by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MoCST), which also recognised the Từ Lương Xâm Traditional Festival as National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2022.

Hồ An Phong, Deputy Minister of the MoCST, emphasised the importance of preserving and sustainably promoting the historic value of the Từ Lương Xâm Special National Heritage Site and the Từ Lương Xâm Festival.

He recommended that Hải Phòng City and Hải An District focus on creating a master plan for the preservation of the site, establishing protection zones, developing maintenance and restoration plans and implementing proposals to help preserve the festival.

The deputy minister also suggested further research, including archaeological excavations, and promoting the history of the site, adding that efforts should focus on making the site a popular tourist destination that helps foster economic, social and tourism development in the area. — VNS