The ranking of Vinh Hung Tower as a Special National Monument is an important milestone in recognizing the historical and cultural values ​​that the monument brings.

This is an important basis for Bac Lieu province to preserve and promote cultural and historical values, combined with effectively exploiting tourism development potential.

Bac Lieu province has identified Vinh Hung Tower as a key relic to be built into an attractive cultural and historical tourist destination, both to popularize and educate about traditions and for tourists to visit and enjoy the scenic beauty of the Vinh Hung Tower Special National Relic.

Along with the restoration, embellishment and expansion of the National Special Monument, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism will coordinate with the People's Committee of Vinh Loi district to invest in upgrading the road to the tower to ensure convenient traffic.

Along with that, the Department promotes the value of special relics, creates unique tourism products, and meets the needs of tourists. Developing tourism at Vinh Hung Tower relic is not simply about sightseeing, but the greater value lies in the hidden meaning in the physical architecture, helping visitors discover and understand the unique features of cultural and historical traditions.

Vinh Hung Tower, also known as Tra Long Tower or Luc Hien Tower, is an ancient tower located more than 20km northwest of Bac Lieu city, in Trung Hung 1B Hamlet, Vinh Hung A Commune, Vinh Loi District, Bac Lieu Province. (Photo: Chanh Da/VNA).

Vinh Hung Tower (located in Trung Hung 1B Hamlet, Vinh Hung A Commune, Vinh Loi District, Bac Lieu Province) is a tower with a long history, but it was not until the early years of the 20th century that scientists learned about it and began to research it.

Here, archaeologists have excavated many extremely valuable artifacts with many stone, bronze, ceramic, and precious stone statues... marking a rather long period of existence and development (from the 4th to the 13th century AD).

From this architectural value, in 1992 the Ministry of Culture, Information and Sports (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) decided to rank Vinh Hung Tower as a National Monument.

Most recently, on July 18, 2024, Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long signed Decision No. 694/QD-TTg ranking Vinh Hung Tower as a Special National Monument.

Amidst the vast rice fields that stretch as far as the eye can see, Vinh Hung Tower stands out against the green background of trees, grass and flowers. The tower is an architectural complex with a simple appearance but still retains the majesty of a unique cultural and religious work. In a peaceful and quiet space, Vinh Hung Tower evokes ancient historical times.

According to recorded documents, archaeologists believe that the first person to discover Vinh Hung Tower and announce it as Tra Long Tower in 1911 was Mr. Lunet de Lajonquière, a French scholar. Then in 1917, Henri Parmentier (French archaeologist) came to survey this area and announced the results in the journal of the French School of the Far East (BEFEO) with a new name - Luc Hien Tower.

In 1990, archaeologists from the Institute of Social Sciences in Ho Chi Minh City (now the Institute for Sustainable Development of the Southern Region) coordinated with the Minh Hai Provincial Museum (now Bac Lieu and Ca Mau provinces) to survey and dig an exploratory pit, discovering a number of artifacts such as god statue heads, grinding tables, Linga-Yoni...

On that basis, the tower relic was initially determined to date from the 7th-8th century AD, belonging to the final development stage of the Oc Eo culture.

Based on observations, researchers believe that the architecture of Vinh Hung Tower is not like the Champa towers in Central Vietnam. Vinh Hung Tower is not built in steps, with fake pillars and columns, there are no traces of decorative motifs on the outside or in front of the tower door, and there are no fake doors on the back and sides.

What is particularly rare in the religious architecture of ancient cultures influenced by Indian civilization is that the tower door is not built facing East but facing Southwest.

Regarding the structure, the foundation of Vinh Hung Tower uses alternating stones and bricks to prevent subsidence. The tower architecture is square, with front and back corners, with 3 symmetrical corners in both the front and back.

The plan and architectural materials, along with the remains of daily life, show that the material cultural traces found at Vinh Hung Tower bear strong cultural and technical nuances in the Southern Delta region within the same plan and development tradition.

Vinh Hung Tower has a fairly large area (191m wide from East to West; 6.9m long from North to South) and is built more than 10m high, with quite thick brick walls, creating a load of tens of thousands of tons after construction is completed.

The tower was built on weak ground and the use of foundations spread over a large space to prevent subsidence was a very smart solution of the ancient residents. The effect is that after more than a thousand years of existence, the subsidence of the tower is insignificant.

Inside Vinh Hung Tower, there is a Linga-Yoni symbol, which is the source of all creation in the fertility beliefs of Oc Eo residents.

According to legend, before performing the ceremony, the celebrant will bathe the Linga-Yoni symbol with scented water. The scented water flows through a system of pipes to the side of the tower, stored in two sacred wells. Oc Eo residents use the sacred water to cover themselves with the hope of good health, growth, prosperity, and many children.

In 2002 and 2011, the Center for Archaeological Research in collaboration with the Bac Lieu Provincial Museum conducted excavations around the tower. During the excavation, archaeologists discovered many artifacts including bronze statues, stone lingas, and pieces of ancient tiles or bricks.

There are currently 5 ancient artifacts that are national treasures found during archaeological excavations at Vinh Hung tower, including the statue of Goddess Laksmi, the statue of God Sada Shiva, the head of God Shiva, the statue of the male god and the relief of Goddess Uma.