Nguyen Cong Tru Temple, also known as Truy Tu Tu, located in Quang Thien Commune, Kim Son District, Ninh Binh Province, is a place for worshipping Nguyen Cong Tru who exploited Kim Son in 1829.

Nguyen Cong Tru Temple

Nguyen Cong Tru Temple has many unique features that few temples in the country have; Previously, This temple was built on Nguyen Cong Tru's house and he also used to live there. Especially, it had been built when Nguyen Cong Tru was still alive and used to lively worship him. Furthermore, temple was built as a multi-religious area so most of people can come here and enjoy the festival held in this temple.

The statue worshiping Nguyen Cong Tru

Nguyen Cong Tru (1778 - 1858) from Uy Vien village, Nghi Xuan district, Ha Tinh province, was not only a good student but also a talented one. However, he failed the exam. It was not until he was 42 years old that he passed Giai Nguyen (first pass in the Huong exam). He was a brilliant man, along with Cao Ba Quat and Nguyen Cong Tru, one of the two most famous poets in the first half of the nineteenth century. In particular, his greatest merit was in clearing land to establish two districts of Tien Hai (Thai Binh) and Kim Son (Ninh Binh).

Delegations to worship at the Temple on the occasion of Nguyen Cong Tru's death anniversary

The merits of Nguyen Cong Tru to the people of Kim Son district are great. The people of Kim Son district built his temple in Quang Thien commune, which is a living temple called Sinh Tu. Until 1858, after Nguyen Cong Tru's death, the people of Kim Son district built an additional front hall, Sinh Tu became the main palace and since then Sinh Tu was also renamed Truy Tu Tu. Nguyen Cong Tru Temple was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national historical and cultural relic on January 22, 1992. 

Nguyen Cong Tru Temple Festival is the biggest festival of residents of the new coastal district of Kim Son. The festival is held from November 12 to November 14 of the lunar calendar every year to remember the merits and commemoration of the death of founder Nguyen Cong Tru - who recruited people to reclaim land from the sea to establish Kim Son district (Gold mountain) of Ninh Binh.

Ceremony part: Offering incense at Nguyen Cong Tru temple in Quang Thien commune, Kim Son district, Ninh Binh province. There are usually many villages joining this in Kim Son district. The unique thing is that the festival has the participation of both religious and non-religious residents with different rituals.

The festival part: is the part that organizes the boat racing game on the An River (swimming), tug of war, human chess and some typical folk games of the festival of the inhabitants of the coastal plain. The festival also organizes 2 nights of cultural exchanges or festivals: 1 night is to praise the country's homeland, to praise the great merits of Nguyen Cong Tru, 1 night to sing cheo, sing literature, and sing ca tru art forms, traditional art to pay tribute to the merits of Mr. Nguyen Cong Tru.

Nguyen Cong Tru Temple Festival is a unique activity that both contributes to preserving the cultural identity of the nation, enriching the spiritual life of the people, and at the same time educating good morals to express our gratitude to the great founder Nguyen Cong Tru.