On April 13, Hai Xuan commune, Mong Cai city held a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of Van Xuan communal house in village 9, Hai Xuan commune, Mong Cai city.

According to the report of Hai Xuan Commune People's Committee, Van Xuan communal house was built in Van Xuan village, old Van Xuan commune (now Hai Xuan commune) around 1848, and by 1850, it was granted royal decrees five times by the king. The old communal house was built in the shape of the letter Dinh (丁), with a yin-yang tiled roof, including the following structures: communal house gate, communal house yard, worshiping hall and harem.

The communal house worships the two Trung sisters (Trung Trac - Trung Nhi) and is a meeting place for villagers. Every year from the 6th to the 10th of January, the villagers hold a festival to worship the Trung sisters and also to review the indomitable fighting tradition of our nation.

Van Xuan communal house is now completely destroyed. On the old land where the communal house was built, there is only an octagonal stone pillar; on the communal house foundation, there are 3 stone slabs that used to be the steps up and down the communal house. In the old rear palace of the communal house, there is a wall, a brick pillar and a small wall connected to the pillar. The entire foundation of the rear palace is still intact, 9m long and 6m wide.

In addition, the communal house still has some traces of a semicircular brick altar. In particular, the communal house still has a stone stele with faded letters, located on the right side close to the communal house foundation. The content of the stele records the construction site of Van Xuan communal house and the people who contributed to the construction of the communal house.

According to the documents collected by Mr. Hoang Giap (Institute of Han Nom Studies), currently the documents related to Van Xuan communal house include: 5 royal decrees of King Tu Duc and the Van Xuan village convention.

In order to meet the people's aspirations and preserve valuable historical relics, Hai Xuan Commune People's Committee has implemented the Van Xuan communal house restoration project, with a total planning area of ​​11,156m², including 8 main construction items and a parking lot. In which, the main communal house is built in the traditional Dinh (丁) architecture, 2 yin-yang tiled roofs, area 572m².

The total estimated cost is over 20 billion VND, of which the cost of building the main temple is nearly 16 billion VND. Construction will begin in 2025-2026.

The restoration and construction of Van Xuan communal house in Hai Xuan commune and the restoration and collection of documents related to Van Xuan communal house through historical periods aim to restore the precious relic of the locality, meet the people's aspirations for a place for cultural and religious activities, promote national traditions, and at the same time convey national pride, solidarity and preserve cultural traditions in the homeland.

Right at the groundbreaking ceremony, Hai Xuan Commune People's Committee received over 762 million VND in funding; 191m2 of land with red book; 25 tons of cement from organizations and individuals supporting the construction of Van Xuan communal house.

Thu Hang (Mong Cai Cultural Center)