Standing in the courtyard of Đền Cô Tân An (Cô Tân An Temple), visitors look directly out over the Red River as its silt-laden water flows downstream toward the delta. Directly across the river lies the land of Đền Bảo Hà (Bảo Hà Temple). Pilgrims in this region customarily visit both banks on a single journey, paying homage on that side before crossing the river to this side, a practice explained by a brief local saying that one worships the Father and then worships the Daughter.
The deity venerated here is Cô Bé Tân An (the Little Maiden of Tân An), a figure belonging to the Maiden rank (hàng Cô) in the pantheon of the Four Palaces (Tứ Phủ), regarded by practitioners as an incarnation of Cô Bé Thượng Ngàn (the Little Maiden of the Highlands) in the Bảo Hà area. Although the temple itself is small, the story surrounding it is layered, involving a historic flood, two temples sharing the same name, and a palanquin procession that locals call a daughter inviting her father to attend the festival. This entry examines each layer in turn, distinguishing historical records from oral tradition.
ICô Bé Tân An in the Four Palaces pantheon
The first question newcomers usually ask is which Maiden is venerated here. The most concise answer is Cô Bé Tân An, the Little Maiden bearing the name of the land of Tân An. In the Four Palaces system, the word Bé (Little) indicates rank rather than age, denoting the youngest Maiden of a given court. Tân An is the name of the former commune where the temple stands, now merged into Bảo Hà commune.
Sources refer to this deity by several names. The Lào Cai Literature and Arts Association (Văn nghệ Lào Cai) calls her Công chúa Thượng Ngàn (Princess of the Highlands) or Cô Bé Thượng Ngàn Công Chúa within Mother Goddess worship. Đạo Mẫu practitioner pages call her Cô Bé Tân An and regard her as a local incarnation of Cô Bé Thượng Ngàn. One practitioner source also records the name Cô Bảy Tân An (Seventh Maiden of Tân An), explaining that she serves as the attendant Maiden to Ông Hoàng Bảy (Seventh Prince) rather than being the Seventh Maiden (Cô Bảy) of the regular Twelve Maidens of the Four Palaces. These titles are not mutually exclusive, as written sources have not standardized a single designation.
According to the internal hierarchy of the Four Palaces, below the Holy Mothers (hàng Mẫu) stand in descending order the Mandarins (hàng Quan), the Ladies (hàng Chầu), the Princes (hàng Ông Hoàng), and finally the Maidens (hàng Cô) and Young Masters (hàng Cậu). The Maiden rank comprises youthful female deities who attend the Holy Mothers, each belonging to a specific palace, wearing a distinct robe color, and having her own chầu văn liturgical chant.
Cô Bé Tân An belongs to Nhạc phủ (the Highland Palace, also called Thượng Ngàn), the realm of mountains and forests associated with the color green and governed by Mẫu Thượng Ngàn (the Holy Mother of the Highlands). An article by Đặng Xuân Xuyến in the Buddhist Studies Review (Tạp chí Nghiên cứu Phật học) on the sequence of spirit possession rituals notes that the Cô Bé figures belong to the retinue of the Sơn Trang (Mountain Manor) court attending Mẫu Thượng Ngàn, listing Cô Bé Tân An in Lào Cai among them.
Two legendary versions of her life
Regarding her biography, two versions circulate, both belonging to legend rather than verifiable historical record.
The first version, which is more widespread, is recorded by Báo Lào Cai, genealogical sites, and Đạo Mẫu pages. According to this tradition, her real name was Nguyễn Hoàng Bà Xa, the daughter of the figure venerated at Bảo Hà Temple, living toward the end of the Lê dynasty during the Cảnh Hưng reign (1740 to 1786). The story relates that she accompanied her father to pacify the Quy Hóa frontier, helped local communities reclaim land, open mines, heal the sick, and establish villages, and after her death was honored by the people with a riverside temple. This narrative places her among deities credited with protecting the land and its people, and this article records it strictly as traditional lore.
The second version is less widely known. According to older spirit mediums (thanh đồng) in the region cited by a Đạo Mẫu source, the temple existed before the father-and-daughter narrative was attached to it and originally venerated a local Highland goddess of this land. Read through this version, the worship of a mountain forest goddess forms the older stratum, while the identification as the daughter of the deity across the river at Bảo Hà came later. The library has no primary document to determine which version is earlier and therefore presents both side by side.
Because the palanquin procession links the two temples closely, many visitors assume that Cô Tân An Temple is an administrative part of Bảo Hà Temple. Documentary evidence shows otherwise. Bảo Hà Temple venerates Thần Vệ quốc Hoàng Bảy (National Guardian Deity Hoàng Bảy) as a deified historical figure before incorporating a Four Palaces layer, as detailed in the entry on Bảo Hà Temple. Cô Tân An Temple venerates a Maiden of the Four Palaces right from its name. The two sites are connected through the father-daughter legend and the annual river-crossing procession rather than a shared heritage dossier.
IIHow one riverside temple became two
It must be stated at the outset that the founding year of the temple has not been established. The library has found no stele inscription or royal decree indicating when the shrine was first built. The milestones below fall into two distinct categories that should be read separately, namely dates backed by administrative documents or official press reports, and dates recorded only by Đạo Mẫu community pages.
- UnknownOriginal foundationThe founding year is unverified. Đạo Mẫu sources describe the old shrine as a small structure on the riverbank in Tân An II village.
- Late Lê dynastyEra of the legendThe popular legend places the life of the Maiden in the late Lê period. This is the setting of oral tradition, not the construction date of the temple.
- 1971Flood sweeps away the old shrineAccording to Đạo Mẫu pages, the old bamboo-and-thatch shrine on the riverbank in Tân An II village was swept away by a major flood. Several statues were recovered and brought to establish a shrine in Tân An I village. No official government record of this event has been located.
- 2006 or 2010Provincial heritage rankingRanked as a provincial historical and cultural heritage site. Sources cite two decisions in different years, namely Decision 3299/QĐ-UBND in late 2006 and Decision 655/QĐ-UBND on March 19, 2010.
- Around 2010Rebuilt on the riverside siteAccording to Đạo Mẫu community sources, the temple at the riverside location was rebuilt around this time. No official construction record has been found.
- 2016National heritage siteRanked as a national historical heritage site under Decision 3743/QĐ-BVHTTDL on October 28, 2016, with Báo Lào Cai reporting the certificate ceremony on November 9 of that year.
- 2016UNESCO inscriptionLate that year, Practices related to the Viet beliefs in the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms were inscribed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The inscription covers the ritual practice as a whole rather than any single temple.
- 2025Administrative boundary changeUnder Resolution 1673/NQ-UBTVQH15, Tân An and Tân Thượng communes of former Văn Bàn district merged with Bảo Hà, Kim Sơn, and Cam Cọn communes of former Bảo Yên district to form the new Bảo Hà commune in Lào Cai province. Both Cô Tân An Temple and Bảo Hà Temple now lie within the same commune.
Three points where available records do not fully align are stated plainly below rather than smoothed over.
The provincial ranking year and the story of two temples. Đạo Mẫu pages (tuphuthanhmau, thanhdongvietnam) relate that after the 1971 flood swept away the small bamboo-and-thatch shrine on the riverbank in Tân An II village, residents recovered several statues and brought them to the home of Mrs. Nguyễn Thị Dóc in Tân An I village to set up a shrine. According to the same community accounts, in late 2006 the Lào Cai Provincial People's Committee issued Decision 3299/QĐ-UBND recognizing the shrine in Tân An I village as a provincial heritage site, after which the commune built a new temple on the riverbank in Tân An II village. Meanwhile, provincial administrative summaries state that Đền Cô was ranked as a provincial historical and cultural heritage site under Decision 655/QĐ-UBND (sometimes printed as 665/QĐ-UBND) on March 19, 2010. Regarding the current village name, Văn nghệ Lào Cai places the temple in Tân An 2 village, whereas a 2025 Nhân Dân report places it in Tân An 1 village. Because the library has not been able to inspect the full text of the 2006 and 2010 provincial decisions, both documentary threads are recorded here.
Right bank or left bank of the Red River. Looking downstream as the Red River flows from north to south, former Tân An commune lies on the right bank, while Bảo Hà Temple lies on the left bank. Văn nghệ Lào Cai accurately describes Cô Tân An Temple as standing on the right bank (hữu ngạn) of the Red River, though several other online articles reverse the terms and call it the left bank. This entry retains the designation right bank in accordance with geographical hydrology.
Which structure is the ancient temple. Digital maps display a user-labeled pin named "Đền Cô Tân An (cổ)" (Ancient Cô Tân An Temple), but that pin lies quite far from Bảo Hà Temple, whereas written sources describe the Tân An II riverside temple as standing directly across the Red River from Bảo Hà Temple. Without on-site archival verification, the library does not adjudicate which structure is older. What is certain from official documentation is that the site ranked at the national level under Decision 3743/QĐ-BVHTTDL on October 28, 2016 bears the official name Historical Heritage Site of Đền Cô in former Tân An commune, Văn Bàn district.
IIIA compact temple and its altar tiers
Because the ranked temple was rebuilt on the old riverside foundation toward the end of the 2000s, visitors will not find centuries-old ironwood columns or antique carvings like those preserved in delta temples.
A travel source describes the structure as following a Đinh-shaped (T-shaped) ground plan, consisting of an outer front hall (đại bái) connected to a main worship hall and an inner sanctuary (hậu cung). This description comes from travel literature, as the library has not seen architectural drawings in the official heritage dossier. Văn nghệ Lào Cai notes that the temple comprises the main lobby of the front hall and several altar chambers, the most solemn being the sanctuary dedicated to the Princess of the Highlands.
The outer hall where pilgrims arrange offerings and burn incense. Following the general custom of Four Palaces temples, the communal Mandarin altar (ban Công đồng) in the outer hall is saluted first.
Houses altars arranged according to the ritual sequence of the Four Palaces, descending from higher-ranking deities to lower ranks so spirit mediums can present their rituals in proper order.
The innermost chamber housing the altar of Cô Bé Tân An. The space is narrower and more enclosed than the outer halls, following the traditional layout of Vietnamese shrines.
The forecourt facing the Red River. During the first-lunar-month festival, the procession departs from Cô Tân An Temple toward the opposite bank, making the path from the courtyard down to the water the main axis of the ritual.
Regarding the Chinese characters at the top of the page, the four characters Tân An Cô từ (新安姑祠, meaning Shrine of the Maiden in Tân An) are reconstructed by the library from the Vietnamese name rather than transcribed from anverified horizontal plaque or stone stele at the temple.
IVThe lie of the land and orientation
The paragraphs below offer a reading of the terrain through traditional geomancy (phong thủy), an analytical lens the library applies across sacred sites. No temple document or heritage dossier records the original geomantic reasoning for choosing this plot, so readers should treat this section as the library's interpretation.
The first notable feature is a gentle paradox, as the deity belongs to the forest and mountain palace, yet her temple stands right at the water's edge. Highland Palace temples typically rest against forested slopes, taking green peaks as their rear backing (hậu chẩm). At Tân An, the forest rises behind and above, while a great river flows immediately in front. Read through traditional geomancy, this forms a configuration where mountain and water meet (sơn thủy giao hòa), with hills behind and water ahead, though the emphasis on water here is stronger than usual for a forest deity.
Second is the paired-bank configuration (thế đối ngạn). Oral tradition places the temples of father and daughter on opposite banks of the same river, looking across the water at one another. Traditional geomancy reads such paired structures as a configuration of mutual correspondence (tương ứng), two points calling to each other across a river that simultaneously separates and connects them.
Third is the price of standing close to the water. The upper Red River rises and falls sharply with the seasons, and the 1971 flood recorded by Đạo Mẫu sources illustrates the dual nature of a riverbank site. Water in front serves as the bright hall (minh đường) that gathers qi and opens the view, yet when floodwaters surge too high, that same bright hall claims the temple foundation. Moving the recovered statues up to a shrine in the forest after the flood can be read geomantically as a retreat toward the mountain, returning to the native element of the deity venerated here.
Finally, regarding orientation, no source consulted by the library records a compass bearing for the temple, so none is listed here. For riverside shrines in Vietnam, facing the water is standard practice, since the river serves both as the primary travel route and as the zone of water gathering (thủy tụ).
VThe first-lunar-month festival and palanquin procession
The temple's festival season falls in the middle of the first lunar month, running from the 15th to the 17th, with the 17th serving as the main festival day. According to Văn nghệ Lào Cai, starting on the full moon of the first lunar month (the 15th), ceremonies include a prayer for peace with floating lanterns on the Red River, a feast for soldiers (lễ khao binh sĩ), and the death anniversary ritual of the Maiden (lễ giỗ Cô). From 11 p.m. on the 16th to 6 a.m. on the 17th, the temple conducts the bathing ritual (lễ mộc dục) to clean the sacred statues and dress them in new robes and crowns, followed by the announcement rite (lễ cáo yết), the Five Tigers offering (lễ khao ngũ hổ), and the offering to wandering souls (lễ khao chúng sinh). The stated purpose of the festival is to pray for national peace, favorable weather, and abundant harvests.
| Lunar date | Observance | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 15th day, 1st lunar month | Festival opening | First day of the three-day festival, featuring prayers for peace, floating lanterns on the Red River, the feast for soldiers, and the Maiden's commemoration rite. |
| Night of the 16th to dawn of the 17th | Bathing ritual and night rites | From 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., bathing and changing robes of the statues (lễ mộc dục), followed by the announcement rite, Five Tigers offering, and offering to wandering souls. |
| Morning of the 17th day, 1st lunar month | Palanquin procession to Bảo Hà Temple | Procession of the palanquins of the Highland Princess, the Jade Emperor, and Ông Hoàng Bảy from Cô Tân An Temple across the Red River to Bảo Hà Temple and back, known locally as the daughter inviting her father to the festival. |
| 17th day, 1st lunar month | Main festival day | Incense offering, reading of the ceremonial祝 text (chúc văn), and folk sacrificial rites in the main hall, followed by festivities including an offering-tray competition and folk games. |
| Festival evenings | Cultural performances | Evening stage performances and traditional dances by Kinh, Tày, Mông, Dao, and Xá Phó communities in the area. |
The Maiden's palanquin carried by six Dao women
The most distinctive feature of the Cô Tân An festival is the river-crossing procession. According to a 2025 report in Báo Lào Cai, the procession brings together residents from all twelve villages of former Tân An commune, walking from Cô Tân An Temple to Bảo Hà Temple, with the Maiden's palanquin carried on the shoulders of six local Dao women. Upon arriving at Bảo Hà Temple, the delegation brings the Maiden's palanquin into the communal hall and performs a ceremony lasting nearly an hour to invite the palanquin of Ông Hoàng Bảy, then escorts his palanquin back across the river to Cô Tân An Temple. Press reports note that local residents have maintained this custom across generations.
The choice of palanquin bearers highlights an important local dynamic, as a Viet Mother Goddess ritual sees its principal palanquin carried by Dao women. In this upper Red River valley, Mother Goddess worship has become a shared festive space connecting multiple ethnic groups.
Before 2025, the two temples belonged to two different districts (Văn Bàn and Bảo Yên), making the procession a journey from one commune and district into another. Today both temples lie within the expanded Bảo Hà commune, though the procession still crosses the Red River. Regarding heritage designations, a clear distinction applies, as Cô Tân An Temple itself is a national historical heritage site (ranked in 2016), whereas the 2016 UNESCO inscription recognizes the broader Practice of the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms across Vietnam rather than this temple's specific festival alone.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Xã Bảo Hà (xã Tân An cũ, huyện Văn Bàn cũ, nhập vào xã Bảo Hà mới năm 2025 theo Nghị quyết 1673/NQ-UBTVQH15), tỉnh Lào Cai, bờ phải sông Hồng
- Getting there
- The temple stands in Bảo Hà commune, Lào Cai province (formerly Tân An commune, Văn Bàn district), on the right bank of the Red River. Bảo Hà Temple lies on the opposite bank, and pilgrims typically visit both sites in a single trip via the Bảo Hà bridge and riverside roads near the IC16 (formerly IC198) interchange of the Nội Bài - Lào Cai expressway.
- Coordinates
- 22.1631, 104.3639
Temple etiquette follows the general order of Four Palaces shrines, where visitors offer incense at the outer communal altar (ban Công đồng) first before entering the inner halls and the Maiden's sanctuary at the rear. Pilgrims in this area customarily visit Bảo Hà Temple first and then cross over to Cô Tân An Temple, following the saying of worshipping the Father and then the Daughter. During the first-lunar-month festival, when the procession gathers in the courtyard and heads toward the river crossing, visitors are expected to yield the path to the palanquins and avoid stepping into the line of bearers.
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?Quick Questions
Who is venerated at Cô Tân An Temple
The temple venerates Cô Bé Tân An, a deity of the Maiden rank (hàng Cô) in the Four Palaces pantheon belonging to Nhạc phủ (the Highland Palace) and attending Mẫu Thượng Ngàn. Practitioners regard her as an incarnation of Cô Bé Thượng Ngàn in the Bảo Hà region, also called Cô Bảy Tân An (attendant Maiden to Ông Hoàng Bảy). Văn nghệ Lào Cai refers to her as Công chúa Thượng Ngàn (Princess of the Highlands).
Is Cô Tân An the daughter of Ông Hoàng Bảy
That is the most widespread oral tradition, which gives her name as Nguyễn Hoàng Bà Xa, daughter of the figure venerated at Bảo Hà Temple during the Cảnh Hưng reign (1740 to 1786) of the late Lê dynasty. However, a second tradition preserved among older spirit mediums holds that the temple predates the father-daughter story and originally venerated a local Highland goddess. Both accounts belong to legend rather than historical record.
Why are there accounts of two Cô Tân An temples
According to Đạo Mẫu community sources, the old bamboo-and-thatch shrine on the riverbank in Tân An II village was swept away by a flood in 1971. Recovered statues were brought to establish a shrine in Tân An I village, which received provincial heritage status in late 2006 (Decision 3299/QĐ-UBND), after which the commune rebuilt the riverside temple in Tân An II village. Meanwhile, provincial records list Decision 655/QĐ-UBND on March 19, 2010 ranking Đền Cô as a provincial heritage site. The library records both documentary threads without adjudicating which structure is older.
When does the Cô Tân An Temple festival take place
The festival season runs from the 15th to the 17th day of the first lunar month, with the 17th as the main festival day. Activities begin on the 15th with prayers for peace and floating lanterns, followed on the night of the 16th by the statue-bathing ritual (lễ mộc dục) and night offerings. On the morning of the 17th, a palanquin procession crosses the Red River from Cô Tân An Temple to Bảo Hà Temple to invite the palanquin of Ông Hoàng Bảy to the festival.
What heritage ranking does Cô Tân An Temple hold
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism ranked the site as a national historical heritage site under Decision 3743/QĐ-BVHTTDL on October 28, 2016 (with the certificate ceremony reported by Báo Lào Cai on November 9, 2016). Previously it was a provincial heritage site, with sources citing Decision 3299/QĐ-UBND in 2006 and Decision 655/QĐ-UBND on March 19, 2010.