Thanh Hoa has many unique mountains, caves, temples, and shrines, but Truong Le mountain range (Sam Son city) still has its own unique and unmistakable appearance. The appearance and historical and cultural layers of Truong Le mountain have contributed to the strong attraction and valuable tourism resources of Sam Son in particular and Thanh Hoa in general.

Doc Cuoc Temple.

Truong Le Mountain is located in the Southeast of Sam Son City, made up of consecutive mountain ranges, gradually extending from the mainland to the sea, creating a stone wall that protects this beautiful coastal land. According to recorded documents, Truong Le is a schist granite mountain range, formed hundreds of millions of years ago. Through a long process of mountain building, the Truong Le range has 16 high and low peaks with unique names such as: Co Giai, Dau Voi, Phu Thai, Hon Keo..., of which Hon Keo has an altitude of 84.7m above sea level.

Coming to Truong Le mountain, visitors will be immersed in the cool green of the trees and leaves, breathe in the fresh air, enjoy the feeling of peace and quiet, listen to the sound of waves crashing against the rocks and sincerely send their wishes and desires with the lingering smoke of incense... At the foot of Truong Le mountain are the poetic, lyrical and liberal bathing areas, so beautiful that it touches the heart: Vung Tien, Vung Ngoc, Vinh Son beach, Nich beach... At first glance, the mountain range "looks like a great statue appearing like a woman with soft, graceful curves lying on her back looking at the vast blue sky".

Those metaphors and associations lead to emotions, evoking a magical story revolving around the formation of Truong Le mountain. Then, from the rocks, mountains, and ancient moss-covered temples on Truong Le mountain are all associated with spiritual and touching legends and myths that have been passed down from generation to generation. That is the legend of Hon Trong Mai, the legend of Doc Cuoc god - the giant who sacrificed himself to defeat the sea demons, determined to split his body in half to protect the lives of the people... Truong Le mountain range holds in its heart many unique historical - cultural - spiritual values ​​with a system of sacred temples such as: Doc Cuoc temple, Co Tien temple, To Hien Thanh temple, Tranh pagoda...

In the system of legends and myths about the giant gods of Thanh land, the most prominent is the god Doc Cuoc associated with Doc Cuoc temple located on Co Giai island, Truong Le range. Temporarily putting aside the hustle and bustle of life, visitors step on the stone steps leading to Doc Cuoc temple, a unique cultural - spiritual space appears before their eyes with the Tam Quan gate carved with two majestic guardians holding swords standing guarding the temple and two stone elephants; the main temple; Mau palace and the ceremony area...

The main temple has a T-shaped structure, the front hall is 5 bays wide. From the outer row of pillars to the inner row of pillars, one side has a gong stand, the other side has a drum stand, next to it are two stands of stewards and ancient chess pieces. In the front hall hangs a parallel sentence: "Tu chung anh duc tham thien dia/ Duc trong an tham trac co kim"; roughly translated: "The sacred air is comparable to heaven and earth/ Duc trong an tham trac co kim" (translated by Bui Xuan Vy). The middle hall is a house with 3 bays, 4 rows of gabled pillars, designed in the shape of the letter T. The rear hall is divided into two parts, the outer part has a bust of the god Doc Cuoc, painted in jet black. The most majestic inner hall is where the altar is located, on the altar is a dragon-shaped altar painted in red and gilded, occupying most of the area; inside the altar are the god's throne, holy tablet, and royal coffin. Doc Cuoc Temple has undergone many restorations and embellishments; From the temple built with bamboo and thatched roof, up to now, the temple has become a beautiful and sacred symbol in the spiritual life of the land and people of Sam Son. Ms. Hoang Kim Nhung (Yen Dinh) excitedly shared: “This is the third time my family and friends and I have come to visit and burn incense at Doc Cuoc Temple. We often come here at the beginning of the new year, sincerely burning incense, hoping that the gods will witness and grant us health, peace, luck and fortune. Although the temple is not majestic or imposing, the natural scenery is very beautiful, has a long history, and is famous for its sacredness, so everyone is excited and hopes to have many opportunities to return.”

Anyone who has ever been to Sam Son City and set foot on Truong Le Mountain cannot miss the scenic spot Hon Trong Mai. Hon Trong Mai is located on the gentle slope of Truong Le range, consisting of three large stone slabs skillfully crafted and arranged by the hands of nature. A large stone slab lies below like a solid pedestal, above are two stone slabs lying quite symmetrically like a pair of birds. Following the migration of time, Hon Trong Mai still persistently offers life a love song imbued with legendary colors. The story of the faithful and devoted love of a poor couple who lived and died together has breathed life into the mountain stone, making seemingly inanimate objects suddenly have their own origins and lives. More importantly, it is the folk legend that has deeply inscribed the stone with profound human beauty, contributing to the brand of a national scenic spot. Since 2019, the Love Festival - Hon Trong Mai has been held, contributing to honoring the beauty and significance of the landscape, while diversifying products and promoting further development of Sam Son tourism.

After being fascinated by the beautiful natural scenery, immersing yourself in the cultural and spiritual space of temples, pagodas, legends and myths, visitors can experience the feeling of searching through the green foliage and thorny bushes to "witness" the vestiges of the ancient French villas and resorts on Truong Le mountain hundreds of years ago that still remain today. During the conversation, Mr. Hoang Thang Ngoi said: “When I was still working, I went to the National Archives Center I, the National Library of Vietnam to help Sam Son City search and collect documents to determine when Sam Son tourism started. At the National Library of Vietnam, the staff here provided me with some documents, mainly articles written in French. Flipping through them, I found a newspaper with the following news: The Governor General of Indochina issued a decree to grant Sam Son and Do Son, each locality 8,000 francs (the old currency of France before being replaced by the Euro) to build a resort for French soldiers. This can be considered the first milestone in the process of the French coming to Sam Son to exploit the resort.”

Some documents written about Truong Le mountain and the process of formation and development of Sam Son tourism, whether meticulous, detailed or brief, all confirm the mark of French resort exploitation on this land. In the article "From Thanh Hoa to Sam Son", printed in the book "Beautiful Thanh Hoa" by French scholar H. Lebreton, there is a very detailed description of Sam Son at that time: "The villa of the Thanh Hoa embassy with beautiful ironwood columns built near Doc Cuoc temple on Mui Chao mountain - between that building and coordinate 79 is the Des Rochers villa (on the mountain) built on a steep promontory under the waves of this province for officials to relax".

Along the length of Truong Le mountain peak, there are currently 2 areas with traces of resorts built by the French in the early 20th century. One area was for French mandarins, the upper class, and high-ranking officials to gather here for sightseeing and relaxation; the other resort was reserved for King Bao Dai. Although no longer in its original state, these traces are still enough to generalize the scale, level of investment and sophistication of the French in the way of entertainment and enjoyment of life from hundreds of years ago; at the same time, affirming the attraction, potential and depth of exploitation of resort tourism in Sam Son.

The March journey is gradually coming to an end to prepare for the sunny April. This is also the time when Sam Son City enters the beach tourism season with so much excitement and expectation. And Truong Le range is always an attractive destination, captivating visitors when they return to the blue sea, white sand, and golden sunshine...

Hoang Linh