The site of two of Vietnam’s most important military victories over Chinese and Mongol invaders, Bach Dang River symbolizes national pride.
But aside from the military brilliance of General Tran Hung Dao’s 1288 triumph at Bach Dang, the river is adjacent to the famed UNESCO World Heritage Site Ha Long Bay.
The northern province of Quang Ninh is filled with natural wonders and cultural heritage sites, but rarely do the two meet as splendidly as at Bach Dang, where Hang Dau Go (Driftwood Grotto) reveals the traces of history from centuries ago.
And in nearby Yen Hung District, which the Bach Dang River bisects, the largest collection of relics and vestiges form the great battles at Bach Dang can be found among the rural villages, streams and rice paddies.
The grand grotto
The last two remaining trees of the forest the Vietnamese cut down to make the stakes that helped them win the Battle of Bach Dang. Remnants of great battles are scattered throughout the northern province of Quang Ninh, which is also home to Ha Long Bay.
A model of the Battle of Bach Dang, in which General Dao defeated Mongolian invaders under Kublai Khan, at the National Museum of Vietnamese History in Hanoi. In the background, the remains of stakes the Vietnamese used to impale the Mongol ships can be seen.
One of the most beautiful caves in Ha Long Bay, Hang Dau Go is famous for its incredible rock formations as well as the role it played in Vietnam’s defeat of the Mongols.
General Tran Hung Dao had defeated the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty army in 1288 by embedding large wooden stakes endwise in the Bach Dang. The stakes had sharp metal tips, hidden at high tide but revealed during low tide.
Small teams of Vietnamese boats lured the pursuing Mongolian vessels into Bach Dang at high tide. The outnumbered Vietnamese held out long enough for the tides to recede, at which point the stakes penetrated the Mongolian ships.
Tran Hung Dao’s army burned all 400 sinking vessels.
Dao had borrowed the stake strategy from Ngo Quyen, who used the same tactic against the Southern Han (Chinese) invaders in 938 AD.
Both battles were extremely significant as Quyen’s victory meant the end of 1,000 years of Chinese occupation while Dao was of the few generals on the planet to defeat the Mongol Empire at the apex of its power under Kublai Khan.
After the battle in 1288, splintered and broken pieces of the stakes collected near what is now known as Driftwood Grotto.
But some historians say the cave got its name because the Vietnamese army had stored the stakes there while preparing for the battle.
Some say the cave was originally called Hang Giau Go (Hidden Wood Grotto) but over time evolved to Hang Dau Go (Driftwood Grotto).
Inside the cave, visitors can’t help but be humbled by nature’s unabashed beauty. Walking down the 90 steps into the cave’s main chamber is like a decent into another world.
Stalagmites and stalactites protrude from the ground and hang down from the high ceiling of the grotto. When the sun shines in, the scenery almost changes shape to resemble a surreal Dali painting, as if the walls were melting.
The light grows dimmer in the cave’s second chamber, but the sun rays that do creep in reflect a kaleidoscope of colors off the wet walls. The inner chamber is much smaller but is home to stone wells filled with fresh water.
Land of relics
The section of the Bach Dang River that runs through Yen Hung District is dotted with more than 200 Bach Dang battle relic and vestige sites, accounting for more than 40 percent of the district’s total area.
The most impressive of the sites are the remains of dozens of stakes still dug into the ground in Yen Giang Commune. Though the river has since receded, the wood has rested there for over 700 years.
Also in Yen Hung, the Trung Ban Communal House was built to worship Tran Hung Dao. His statue there, considered the most beautiful of all Hung Dao statues in Vietnam, shows the leader with his long hair blowing in the wind after battle.
Dao himself initiated the building of the Vua Ba Shrine. While surveying the river to plan his stake strategy, a female vendor brought him water and explained the movements of the tides to him, making the arrangement of the stakes easy.
After the victory, he appealed to the king to build the Vua Ba Shrine in honor of the woman.
Dao also built the Dien Cong Communal House to pay tribute to the deities who came to him in a dream and told him how to use fire to beat the Chinese.
Visitors to Hung Yen can also see the last two remaining trees of the forest that Dao’s army cut down to make the stakes.
