Follow the winding road through fragrant pine forests up to an elevation of 97 meters above sea level on the summit of Mount Dũng Quyết (popularly known as Mount Quyết), and you will come upon a four-pillar ironwood ceremonial gateway roofed in curved terracotta tiles opening onto a vast stone courtyard in the sky. Stand on the stone terrace before the temple and look down: the Lam River (Lam Giang) winds like a giant silver ribbon hugging the mountain foot before flowing out to the Cửa Hội estuary, while across the river rise the ninety-nine mist-veiled peaks of the Hồng Lĩnh range. This is the commanding setting of the Temple of Emperor Quang Trung on Mount Dũng Quyết.
More than a monumental spiritual landmark of the Nghệ An region, this mountain cradles the physical traces of a grand late eighteenth-century state-building vision. Right in the valley between Mount Dũng Quyết and Mount Kỳ Lân at the foot of the temple, in the autumn of the Mậu Thân year (1788), Bắc Bình Vương Nguyễn Huệ joined Master Nguyễn Thiếp in constructing Phượng Hoàng Trung Đô (the Phoenix Central Capital), envisioned as the central imperial capital linking northern and southern Vietnam under the Tây Sơn dynasty.
IEmperor Quang Trung, Master Nguyễn Thiếp and the vision of Phượng Hoàng Trung Đô
The central figures venerated in the Upper and Middle Sanctuaries of the temple are Emperor Quang Trung - Nguyễn Huệ (1753 to 1792), the brilliant cloth-robed national hero of Vietnam, together with the civil mandarins and martial generals of the Tây Sơn dynasty and the Emperor's parents.
According to official chronicles and Sino-Vietnamese correspondence preserved in Hoàng Lê nhất thống chí, Đại Nam chính biên liệt truyện and La Sơn Yên Hồ Nguyễn Tiên sinh hợp tập, the paternal Hồ clan of the three Tây Sơn brothers (Nguyễn Nhạc, Nguyễn Lữ and Nguyễn Huệ) originated in Thái Lão hamlet, Hưng Nguyên district, Nghệ An province (just a few kilometers west of Mount Dũng Quyết), before their fourth-generation ancestor was relocated south to Tây Sơn hamlet, Phù Ly district, Quy Nhơn prefecture during the Trịnh - Nguyễn wars. Consequently, in Nguyễn Huệ's mind, the Nghệ An heartland beneath Mount Quyết beside the Lam River was both his ancestral homeland and the ideal geostrategic midpoint equidistant between Thăng Long in the north and Phú Xuân in the south.
On the 3rd day of the 9th lunar month of the Mậu Thân year (1 October 1788), writing from Phú Xuân, Bắc Bình Vương Nguyễn Huệ sent a historic edict to the recluse scholar La Sơn Phu Tử Nguyễn Thiếp (1723 to 1804, a master of Confucian classics and geomancy living in retreat on Mount Thiên Nhẫn), entrusting him with surveying the site for a new imperial capital at Yên Trường: I now wish to establish the capital in Nghệ An, taking the central point balanced among the four quarters so as to govern both within and without... Recalling earlier days when crossing Hoành Sơn and opening the map, I saw that at Yên Trường commune in Chân Lộc district the terrain is spacious and the atmosphere luminous, truly an auspicious land for a capital. Yet founding a capital and building a city must rely upon a worthy sage. I therefore trouble you, Master, to step forth for my sake and examine that land once more. Receiving the edict, Nguyễn Thiếp descended to Mount Dũng Quyết to survey the landforms, determine the compass bearings and memorialize the court on the auspicious valley between Mount Dũng Quyết and Mount Kỳ Lân for erecting the inner citadel, outer ramparts and Thái Hòa Audience Hall.
Within the Vietnamese tradition of ancestor veneration and the canonization of national heroes, enshrining Emperor Quang Trung atop Mount Dũng Quyết carries a twofold significance: it honors the undefeated sovereign who swept away foreign invaders to safeguard national sovereignty in the spring of the Kỷ Dậu year (1789), and it welcomes a native son back to his ancestral Nghệ An soil as a guardian deity. In the Upper Sanctuary, flanking the central bronze statue of Emperor Quang Trung seated on a dragon throne, the people of Nghệ An established altars to his father Hồ Phi Phúc on the left and his mother Nguyễn Thị Đồng on the right in fulfilment of filial piety. In the Middle Sanctuary in front, left and right altars co-worship the Five Phoenix Heroines (Ngũ Phụng Thư: Bùi Thị Xuân, Bùi Thị Nhạn, Trần Thị Lan, Huỳnh Thị Cúc and Nguyễn Thị Dung) alongside the Five Tiger Generals of Tây Sơn and leading civil and military officials including Master Nguyễn Thiếp, Ngô Thì Nhậm, Phan Huy Ích, Trần Quang Diệu and Vũ Văn Dũng.
Many people assume that Phượng Hoàng Trung Đô remained merely a paper proposal of Emperor Quang Trung that was never actually built. In reality, archaeological surveys in the valley between Mount Dũng Quyết and Mount Kỳ Lân have uncovered the trapezoidal outer ramparts measuring about 2,820 meters in perimeter built of rammed earth and laterite, the rectangular inner citadel wall exceeding 1,600 meters in perimeter, and the stone steps of Thái Hòa Hall and Five Phoenix Pavilion. Construction was largely completed under the supervision of Nghệ An Governor Trần Quang Diệu and Master Nguyễn Thiếp, only the Emperor's sudden death on the 29th day of the 7th lunar month of the Nhâm Tý year (1792) prevented the formal transfer of the court from Phú Xuân.
IIOver two centuries from the 1788 Phượng Hoàng Trung Đô edict to the 2008 summit temple
The history of Mount Dũng Quyết spans from early frontier defense under the Lý, Trần and Lê dynasties associated with generals Lý Nhật Quang and Nguyễn Xí to its brilliant pinnacle under the Tây Sơn dynasty in the late eighteenth century, culminating in the national heritage site and summit temple standing today.
According to historical chronicles, after Bắc Bình Vương Nguyễn Huệ issued his edict of 1 October 1788 commissioning Nguyễn Thiếp to select the capital site, in the 12th lunar month of the Mậu Thân year (December 1788), during his lightning march north from Phú Xuân to rout the Qing army, Emperor Quang Trung halted in Nghệ An for over ten days to recruit more than ten thousand elite Nghệ An troops, hold a grand military review at the foot of Mount Dũng Quyết, and personally inspect the groundbreaking of Phượng Hoàng Trung Đô alongside Master Nguyễn Thiếp (situated between the old Nghệ An citadel in Hưng Nguyên and the Vĩnh Doanh garrison, hence described as standing between the twin citadels of Nghệ An). Immediately after the great Ngọc Hồi - Đống Đa victory in the spring of 1789, the Emperor mobilized artisans and laborers to transport ironwood, blue stone and laterite to construct the palaces of Trung Đô between 1789 and 1792.
Across more than two centuries of historical change following the fall of the Tây Sơn dynasty, the palaces in the valley fell into ruin, leaving behind earthen-and-laterite ramparts and the local names of Mount Quyết, Cat Hill and Turtle Mound. On 28 April 1962, the Ministry of Culture issued Decision No. 313-VH/VP ranking the Historical and Scenic Site of Mount Dũng Quyết and Phượng Hoàng Trung Đô as a National Heritage Site. To fulfill the long-standing aspiration of the people of Nghệ An, on 15 August 2005 Nghệ An Province broke ground for the Temple of Emperor Quang Trung on the second peak of the Phoenix Wing spur of Mount Dũng Quyết. After more than 1,000 days of meticulous construction, the temple was solemnly inaugurated on 7 May 2008, marking the 220th anniversary of Emperor Quang Trung's edict founding Phượng Hoàng Trung Đô (1788 to 2008).
- 01/10/1788Imperial edict commissioning Master Nguyễn Thiếp to site Trung ĐôOn the 3rd day of the 9th lunar month of the Mậu Thân year (1 October 1788), Bắc Bình Vương Nguyễn Huệ sent an edict inviting Master Nguyễn Thiếp to survey the Yên Trường valley at the foot of Mount Dũng Quyết for a new capital.
- December 1788Grand military review and groundbreaking of Phượng Hoàng Trung ĐôMarching north to Thăng Long, Emperor Quang Trung paused in Nghệ An to recruit over 10,000 soldiers, review his troops and officially launch construction of the central capital Phượng Hoàng Trung Đô.
- 1789 - 1792Construction of inner and outer citadels and Thái Hòa HallFollowing the spring 1789 victory, Governor Trần Quang Diệu and Master Nguyễn Thiếp oversaw the building of the inner and outer walls, Five Phoenix Pavilion and Thái Hòa Hall between Mount Dũng Quyết and Mount Kỳ Lân.
- 29/07/1792Passing of Emperor Quang Trung before the capital transferOn the 29th day of the 7th lunar month of the Nhâm Tý year (16 September 1792), Emperor Quang Trung died suddenly at age 39 in Phú Xuân, halting the planned transfer of the imperial court to Phượng Hoàng Trung Đô.
- 28/04/1962Ranked as a National Historical and Scenic Heritage SiteThe Ministry of Culture issued Decision No. 313-VH/VP recognizing Mount Dũng Quyết and Phượng Hoàng Trung Đô as a National Historical and Scenic Heritage Site.
- 15/08/2005Groundbreaking of the Temple of Emperor Quang Trung on Mount QuyếtNghệ An Province began constructing the Temple of Emperor Quang Trung in ironwood and blue stone at an elevation of 97 meters on the Phoenix Wing peak of Mount Dũng Quyết.
- 07/05/2008Inauguration marking the 220th anniversary of Phượng Hoàng Trung ĐôAfter nearly three years of construction, the temple was officially inaugurated on 7 May 2008, becoming a premier cultural and spiritual landmark of Vinh and Nghệ An Province.
IIITam-character ironwood architecture on Phoenix Wing peak and the forecourt monolith
The Temple of Emperor Quang Trung is set within a 15-hectare pine forest crowning the second peak (the Phoenix Wing spur) of Mount Dũng Quyết at 97 meters above sea level. The inner sanctuary complex follows classical Later Lê and Nguyễn architectural canons on an inner Tam-character (三), outer Quốc-character (國) ground plan: progressing along the sacred axis from the outside in are the Four-Pillar Nghi Môn Gateway, the stone spirit screen and giant ornamental monolith, the grand courtyard flanked by the Left and Right Wings (Tả vu, Hữu vu), the stele, bell and drum pavilions, and the main sanctuary comprising the Lower Hall (Hạ điện), Middle Hall (Trung điện) and Upper Sanctuary (Thượng điện) rising across stepped blue-stone terraces.
Eight-roofed ironwood joinery and the monumental ornamental stone in the forecourt
The entire load-bearing frame of the Nghi Môn Gateway, Left and Right Wings, and the Lower, Middle and Upper Halls is crafted of prime Nghệ An and Thanh Hóa ironwood (gỗ lim), joined by traditional mortise-and-tenon carpentry in the king-post and stacked-beam style (giá chiêng chồng rường). The roofs are laid with bright red curved terracotta tiles whose upturned eaves soar like phoenix wings above Mount Quyết, crowned by twin dragons flanking the moon along the main ridge. Inside the three halls, master woodcarvers sculpted hundreds of gilded relief panels, valances, horizontal plaques and parallel couplets depicting Tây Sơn martial glory, including war elephants charging into battle, the military review at Yên Trường, and the grand plaque reading Phượng Hoàng Trung Đô.
In the forecourt leading into the sanctuary, alongside the stepped terraces, balustrades and scroll-shaped spirit screen carved from monolithic Thanh Hóa blue stone, visitors are drawn to a massive natural ornamental boulder set prominently before the temple. Popular travel accounts and pilgrim lore frequently refer to this boulder as a 25-tonne meteorite ornamental stone gathering cosmic energy before the sacred threshold, whereas architectural and landscape records of the monument describe it as a monolithic natural ornamental boulder with striking mineral veining, carefully selected and hauled up to the 97-meter summit to anchor the bright hall alongside the stone spirit screen. Flanking the courtyard inside the stele and bell pavilions hang a great bronze bell (đại hồng chung), a massive thunder drum and a stone stele incised with the full text of Emperor Quang Trung's 1788 edict to Master Nguyễn Thiếp.
The main ceremonial gate built of massive monolithic ironwood columns resting on blue stone bases, crowned by a two-tiered, eight-roofed pavilion with soaring curved eaves amid the pine forest.
A monolithic blue-stone scroll screen carved with dragons and clouds, paired with a colossal natural ornamental boulder (popularly called a 25-tonne meteorite stone by visitors) anchoring the central forecourt.
Standing symmetrically on either side of the Thanh Hóa stone courtyard, housing the bronze bell, great drum, maps of Phượng Hoàng Trung Đô, Tây Sơn seals and weapons, and the stele inscribed with the 1788 capital edict.
The principal ceremonial halls adorned with gilded dragon valances, co-worshipping the Five Phoenix Heroines, Five Tiger Generals, Master Nguyễn Thiếp, Ngô Thì Nhậm and Phan Huy Ích.
Set on the highest terrace, enshrining the majestic central bronze statue of Emperor Quang Trung on a dragon throne, with altars to his father Hồ Phi Phúc on the left and his mother Nguyễn Thị Đồng on the right.
IVThe lie of the land and the facing
This section is the library's own reading through the eyes of traditional form-school feng shui combined with the historical geographic observations of Emperor Quang Trung and Master Nguyễn Thiếp in 1788. We state this clearly so that readers can appreciate the convergence of historical capital planning and East Asian geomancy.
Examined at coordinates 18.64553°N, 105.69873°E at an elevation of 97 meters atop Mount Dũng Quyết, few sites in central Vietnam display as complete a configuration of the Four Sacred Animals gathering together (Long - Lân - Quy - Phượng) as Phượng Hoàng Trung Đô. The massif of Mount Dũng Quyết and its adjacent hills extend into four distinct landforms resembling the four sacred creatures bowing toward a single center: the rocky spur jutting out to the edge of the Lam River in the southeast resembles a dragon's head bending to drink water and is named Long Thủ (Dragon Head), the detached hill to the north-northwest resembles a crouching unicorn and is named Kỳ Lân Sơn (Cat Hill), the rounded low mound to the southwest resembles a turtle carapace and is named Quy Bối (Turtle Mound), and the high, spreading ridge to the east resembles outstretched phoenix wings and is named Phượng Dực (Phoenix Wing). Today's Temple of Emperor Quang Trung crowns the summit of the Phượng Dực spur, while the 1788 citadel of Phượng Hoàng Trung Đô lies nestled within the level basin sheltered on all four sides by the Dragon, Unicorn, Turtle and Phoenix.
Regarding sitting and facing and the grand bright hall (minh đường) watercourse, the summit temple faces southeast (sitting northwest, facing southeast), looking directly down upon the sweeping bend of the Lam River (Lam Giang) and out toward the East Sea at the Cửa Hội estuary. In macro-scale geomancy, as the Lam River descends from the Trường Sơn range to the foot of Mount Dũng Quyết, it traces a wide arc embracing the mountain base in the pattern of water encircling the Black Tortoise (Huyền Vũ) and a jade girdle courting the hall, turning the broad river expanse into a vast, water-gathering outer bright hall. More remarkably still, across the southern bank of the Lam River (in Nghi Xuân, Hà Tĩnh), the ninety-nine peaks of the Hồng Lĩnh range rise along the southeastern horizon as a majestic front screen (tiền án) and courtier range. Shielded to the north by the Hoành Sơn range and to the west by Mount Thiên Nhẫn, Mount Dũng Quyết forms an imperial node (huyệt) that is at once militarily impregnable and radiant in vital qi, fulfilling Emperor Quang Trung's own words in his 1788 edict: The terrain is spacious and the atmosphere luminous, truly an auspicious land for a capital.
VThe 5th-day Lunar New Year Ngọc Hồi - Đống Đa Victory Festival and the Emperor's Death Anniversary
At the Temple of Emperor Quang Trung on Mount Dũng Quyết, three major annual commemorative festivals celebrate the life, military triumphs and state-building vision of the cloth-robed Tây Sơn Emperor, drawing tens of thousands of Nghệ An residents and pilgrims from across Vietnam up the mountain to offer incense.
| Annual Date | Commemorative Festival | Rites & Cultural Activities |
|---|---|---|
| Lunar New Year's Eve & 1st day of the 1st lunar month | New Year Bell-Tolling and Prayer for National Peace | Striking the great bronze bell atop Mount Quyết at midnight to welcome the Lunar New Year, as tens of thousands of families from Vinh and neighboring districts ascend the mountain to offer first incense. |
| 5th day of the 1st lunar month | Commemoration of the Ngọc Hồi - Đống Đa Victory (Spring 1789) | The largest spring festival at the temple, featuring traditional sacrificial rites, floral offerings, eulogies recalling the lightning march from Nghệ An to Thăng Long, Tây Sơn battle-drum performances and traditional martial arts. |
| 29th day of the 7th lunar month | Grand Death Anniversary of Emperor Quang Trung - Nguyễn Huệ | Commemorating the passing of Emperor Quang Trung (29th day of the 7th lunar month of 1792) with Yết Cáo and Grand Sacrifice rites, incense offerings by provincial leaders, Hồ - Nguyễn clan descendants and the public. |
| 1 October (3rd day of the 9th lunar month) | Commemoration of the Imperial Edict Founding Phượng Hoàng Trung Đô | Honoring the day in 1788 when Bắc Bình Vương Nguyễn Huệ commissioned Master Nguyễn Thiếp to establish the central capital of Phượng Hoàng Trung Đô at Mount Dũng Quyết. |
| 1st and 15th days of every lunar month | Semi-monthly Sóc Vọng offerings | The monument management board performs regular offerings of incense, flowers, tea and fruit in the Upper and Middle Sanctuaries. |
Every year on the 5th day of the 1st lunar month and on the 29th day of the 7th lunar month, the thunderous roll of Tây Sơn battle drums echoes from the summit of Mount Dũng Quyết, mingling with the rustle of pine needles and the river winds rising off the Lam River to evoke the heroic spirit of the ten thousand Nghệ An soldiers who once mustered beneath this mountain to march with Emperor Quang Trung into history.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Đỉnh núi Dũng Quyết, phường Trường Vinh (phường Trung Đô, thành phố Vinh cũ), tỉnh Nghệ An
- Getting there
- Located atop Mount Dũng Quyết in Trường Vinh Ward (formerly Trung Đô Ward, Vinh City), about 5 km southeast of central Vinh. Follow Lê Duẩn Street (National Highway 1A) toward Bến Thủy Bridge and Vinh University, turn onto Trần Cảnh Bình Street or Ngô Thì Nhậm Street at the foot of Mount Quyết, and drive by car or motorbike up the paved road winding through the pine forest directly to the parking area beside the temple gate.
- Coordinates
- 18.64553, 105.69873
The Temple of Emperor Quang Trung stands atop a high mountain surrounded by pine forest within a national historical site. When ascending to the temple, visitors are asked to wear modest, respectful attire, maintain quiet decorum, and remove hats before entering the Lower, Middle and Upper Halls. Because the temple grounds are encircled by mature pine forests on Mount Dũng Quyết, please take special care to keep the area clean and light incense only at the designated outdoor censers or as directed by the management board to prevent forest fires.
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VIIContribute To This Page
Contribute photos, information or video for Temple of Emperor Quang Trung on Mount Dũng Quyết
Góp ảnh, thông tin hoặc video cho Đền thờ Hoàng đế Quang Trung trên núi Dũng QuyếtEveryone is welcome to enrich this page: a photo you took, a detail the page misses, a short video. Every contribution is read and answered.
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?Quick Questions
Why was the Temple of Emperor Quang Trung built on the summit of Mount Dũng Quyết in Nghệ An?
Nghệ An (Hưng Nguyên district) was the ancestral homeland of Emperor Quang Trung's paternal Hồ clan. Moreover, on 1 October 1788 (the 3rd day of the 9th lunar month of the Mậu Thân year), Nguyễn Huệ sent an edict to Master Nguyễn Thiếp selecting the Four Sacred Animals valley at the foot of Mount Dũng Quyết to build the central capital of Phượng Hoàng Trung Đô, and halted here in December 1788 to recruit over 10,000 elite soldiers before marching north to defeat the Qing army.
What are the Four Sacred Animals landforms converging at Mount Dũng Quyết and Phượng Hoàng Trung Đô?
Mount Dũng Quyết and its surrounding hills form the shapes of all four sacred creatures: Long Thủ (the Dragon Head spur reaching down to drink from the Lam River), Kỳ Lân (Cat Hill to the north), Quy Bối (Turtle Mound to the southwest) and Phượng Dực (the Phoenix Wing ridge spreading to the southeast, where the Temple of Emperor Quang Trung stands at 97 meters elevation).
Besides Emperor Quang Trung, which historical figures are co-worshipped inside the temple?
In the Upper Sanctuary, flanking the central bronze statue of Emperor Quang Trung, the left bay honors his father Hồ Phi Phúc and the right bay honors his mother Nguyễn Thị Đồng. In the Middle Sanctuary in front, altars honor the Five Phoenix Heroines (five female Tây Sơn generals), the Five Tiger Generals of Tây Sơn, and eminent officials including Master Nguyễn Thiếp, Ngô Thì Nhậm and Phan Huy Ích.
When were the Mount Dũng Quyết heritage site and the temple ranked and constructed?
The Historical and Scenic Site of Mount Dũng Quyết and Phượng Hoàng Trung Đô was ranked as a National Heritage Site by the Ministry of Culture on 28 April 1962 (Decision No. 313-VH/VP). The ironwood-and-stone Temple of Emperor Quang Trung on the summit broke ground on 15 August 2005 and was inaugurated on 7 May 2008 to mark the 220th anniversary of Phượng Hoàng Trung Đô.
What are the largest annual festivals at the Temple of Emperor Quang Trung on Mount Quyết?
The two largest annual observances are the Commemoration of the Ngọc Hồi - Đống Đa Victory on the 5th day of the 1st lunar month (during the Lunar New Year) and the Grand Death Anniversary of Emperor Quang Trung on the 29th day of the 7th lunar month, alongside the 1 October commemoration of the 1788 imperial edict founding Phượng Hoàng Trung Đô.