The historical and cultural relic of Mai An Tiem temple is located at the foot of An Tiem mountain, Nga Phu commune, Nga Son district, Thanh Hoa province.

Mr. Tran Van Hoa, a cultural officer of Nga Phu commune, said that Mai An Tiem temple has existed for a long time. In 2010, the temple was restored and repaired.

According to legend, Mai An Tiem was the adopted son of King Hung. Mai An Tiem was naturally agile and outstanding. Therefore, King Hung trusted him, married him to his daughter (Miss Ba) and bestowed him with many benefits, making many people around him jealous and envious.

Although the king bestowed many gifts on Mai An Tiem, he did not rely on them. He believed that only things he made with his own hands, exchanged with his own sweat and effort, were valuable. So he told those around him, "Gifts are worries, gifts are debts."

Mai An Tiem's ​​honest and upright words were taken advantage of by bad people, who told the king that he despised the wealth the king had given him. Therefore, the king exiled Mai An Tiem's ​​entire family to a deserted island (according to legend, the deserted island is now Nga Phu commune, Nga Son district, Thanh Hoa).

The king believed that, facing the raging waves of the ocean and hunger and thirst, Mai An Tiem would repent and beg for forgiveness.

On a deserted island, while wandering with his wife and children to find a way to make a living, he accidentally found a strange fruit left by a bird, the skin was green, the inside was red (watermelon). He tasted it and found the strange fruit had a sweet, refreshing taste, eating it made his body alert and healthy.

From then on, he and his wife planted this fruit on a deserted island. When the number of strange fruits planted each day increased and he could not eat them all, he thought of a way to carve his name on the strange fruits, let them float on the sea, and let the waves carry them to the mainland.

Not long after, merchants' boats stopped at the deserted island to buy strange fruits, thanks to which Mai An Tiem's ​​family was able to exchange many items for daily life and production, and had a prosperous life.

Upon hearing the news, the king completely removed his prejudice and sent people to the deserted island to welcome Mai An Tiem's ​​whole family back to the mainland.

Every year, on the 12th-15th of March (Lunar calendar), people and tourists from all over the world visit Mai An Tiem temple to attend the festival and burn incense to commemorate his contributions to reclaiming the land.

After many renovations, Mai An Tiem temple today has a campus of thousands of square meters, with lush green trees.

Behind the Mai An Tiem temple is a cave that has been filled in. Mr. Hoa said that in the past, the cave was very spacious, cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Locals believe that this is where Mai An Tiem and his wife lived. To prevent the cave from being disturbed, people set up an altar and sealed the cave entrance.

Today, people in Nga Phu commune in particular and Nga Son district in general still maintain the profession of growing watermelon, bringing a stable income. Watermelon has also become one of the products for local economic development (Photo: Hoang Dong).