Coming back to Nam Dinh’s land of the masterpiece, do not miss the Nam Dinh flagpole – witnesses of history accompanying the years and is the pride of the people here.
For the people of Thanh Nam, the image of Nam Dinh flagpole has become a familiar symbol associated with the lives of the people here. Built in the early nineteenth century, experiencing many ups and downs in history, Thanh Nam’s flagpole is still standing on the blue sky. The image of a red flag with yellow stars fluttering on the roof is like an aura symbol for a national hero.
Visiting this monument, visitors not only feel the serene, solemn, ancient beauty of the flagpole, but you will also feel the pure and elegant beauty interwoven with the mossy stone steps. accumulate ups and downs of time.
Thanh Nam flagpole
Determine the coordinates of Nam Dinh flagpole
Address: Located on To Hieu Street – Ngo Quyen Ward – Nam Dinh City
Nam Dinh flagpole ( Thanh Nam flagpole ) is also known as Ky Dai Thanh Nam. This is one of the four flagpoles built in the early Nguyen Dynasty, including: The Palace of the Imperial City of Hue (1807); Hanoi Radio Station (1812); The Radio Castle of Bac Ninh (1838). This radio station is located in the south of the city. In front of Kinh Thien Palace, now is the Vong Cung Pagoda.
Coming back to Nam Dinh, walking on To Hieu – Ngo Quyen Street, visitors will admire the lush beauty of Thanh Nam monument – an ancient architectural work of great historical and cultural value. And this is also the symbol that arouses the love for the motherland, the country and pride in national sovereignty.
Thanh Nam flagpole and historical markers
According to many sources of reference, the Thanh Nam monument was built at the same time as the Hanoi flagpole in the years 1812; The 11th Gia Long year is located in the South of the inner city, about 100m from Vong Cung. After many restoration works, in 1843, Thanh Nam flagpole was completed.
The flagpole in Nam Dinh city is associated with many important historical landmarks:
– March 27, 1883: French warships bombarded the Citadel from Dao River. At the flagpole, at the height of 11m to the south, there is still a bullet hole stuck behind 4cm, 6cm in diameter. During the period of secret operation, many officials and Party members still used the flagpole to serve as a place of communication and activities and the next desk to direct the movement. In 1967, Nam Dinh was suspended from fierce attacks by US aircraft. The top of the flagpole is where the aircraft observation team led by Comrade La Vinh Hao – the self-defense of the Textile factory, performs the mission of teleportation.
– June 11, 1972: American planes attacked the city of Textile. At 10:10 a.m., the American colonists fired rockets and hit the flagpole area and collapsed this ancient structure. In 1997, on the 43rd anniversary of the liberation of Nam Dinh city, the flagpole was restored to its original state.
Nearly 2 centuries have passed, Thanh Nam flagpole has witnessed many changing historical events of the homeland and the country. This is an ancient architectural work with historical and cultural value and this is also a symbol that arouses love for the motherland, homeland and a sense of pride in the process of protecting independence, sovereignty and freedom. of the Fatherland.
Every year, it welcomes hundreds of delegations here to visit and commemorate the Queen of the flagpole. In 1962, Nam Dinh flagpole was recognized by the Ministry of Culture and Information as a national-level cultural and historical relic.
Check-in at flagpole
How to get to Nam Dinh flagpole
To move to the Thanh Nam flagpole, visitors can travel by many forms such as train, bus, limousine or private car, motorbike.
From Hanoi, if tourists go by bus, the fee will be from 80,000 – 100,000 VND / ticket; If traveling by train, there will be tickets ranging from VND 81,000 – VND 180,000 / ticket.
Note: For tourists in a remote province like the South, choosing to take the train to Nam Dinh or take a plane to Hanoi and then take a bus to Nam Dinh is the best choice.
Discover the architecture of Thanh Nam monument
Nam Dinh flagpole started building the year of Nhan Than with the reign Gia Long 11 (1812) to the year of Quy Mao – the reign of Thieu Tri 3 (1843), then completed. Today’s flagpole consists of 3 main parts: the base (the pedestal), the body of the column (the body of the station) and the gazebo (gazebo). Thanh Nam radio station 23.84m high; located in the south of the ancient citadel, 100m from Vong Cung communal house.
The entire flagpole is located on 2 floors of the pedestal, the square column gradually decreases from below. The bottom floor is square, each side is 16.33m long and 2.4m high. The East and West sides of the first floor have two 10-step brick stairs leading to the second floor, each side is 11.42 meters long and 3.1 meters high. The four sides of the pedestal are built on solid balustrades with 4 doors.
The old image of the flagpole
Flagpole court
In the past, the flagpole yard was built into a ceremony courtyard, square in shape with a railing surrounded by four sides. The South placed 2 cannons; In the East, there is a censer commemorating the martyrs and heroes who died in the two resistance wars against France to defend the Flagpole – Citadel in 1873 and 1883.
Nam Dinh flagpole yard
Flagpole base
The flagpole base consists of 2 square pedestals; The upper pedestal is smaller than the lower one. Around the outside of the two pedestals, there are handrails to ensure the safety of visitors. The bottom pedestals each side are 16.33m long; 2.4m high. From the bottom to the upper pedestal are built up and down stairs. Platforms on each side are 11.42m long; 3.1m high. The four sides of the pedestal are built on balustrades and have four doors.
On the 2nd pedestal, there is a door to the body of the flagpole. On the East door mold there are 2 words “Nghe Huc”. South door mold has 2 words “Huong Quang” in the direction of virtue. In the South gate, there are stone steles engraved with the Chinese characters “Ky Dai” and “Thieu reigned for the three years of worship”. Under the pedestal, there is also a temple for the Lady of the Flagpole – curator Princess Nguyen Thi Trinh, who died in the battle of invading France and invading Nam Dinh citadel on December 11, 1873.
Flagpole base
Flagpole body
The body of the flagpole is at 12.65m, gradually reducing upwards with 2 parts: the lower part is built with an octagonal cylinder, each side is 2.2m, the upper part is built with a circle with a bottom diameter of 3.25m. In the body of the flagpole there is a spiral staircase consisting of 54 steps going up to the gazebo, illuminated by 32 asteroid windows of 8 sides of the flagpole.
The gazebo is built in a cylindrical shape with a railing, 4 arch doors and 8 small windows. From the lookout surface, there is a small iron ladder leading to the top of the flagpole. On the top of the flagpole, visitors can zoom out to see the mountains, rivers, fields of Nam Dinh and 3 provinces of Thai Binh, Ninh Binh, Ha Nam.
Flagpole body
Brick material
Nam Dinh flagpole is built from old baked brick, crimson red with dimensions of 0.3m x 0.15m x 0.07m. The square corners of the two pedestals are built of 1 type of brick, beveled 450, while the 1200 corners of the octagonal pillar body are built of separate bricks. The size of the floor tile is 0.28m x 0.28m x 0.07m with black color.
The flagpole is made of baked brick material
Note when visiting the Thanh Nam flagpole
When visiting the Nam Dinh radio station, visitors may note some of the following issues:
- You need to pay attention to the dress as well as to dress properly. Wear sneakers or flats instead of high heels for easier and more convenient mobility.
- When visiting the castle of Thanh Nam, remember to obey the general rules of the monument, avoid touching objects, respect the common property, go softly, and do not throw trash indiscriminately.
- Be very careful when moving up the stairs; Especially for families who bring children with them, it should be noted because on rainy days, the stairs are moldy and easy to slip.
Over the past 200 years, Nam Dinh flagpole has witnessed many historical events as well as the changes of Thanh Nam land. And if you visit Nam Dinh once, do not forget to visit this historic architecture to better understand the heroic and glorious victories of the Vietnamese people in the resistance war against the invaders and defending the homeland.
Photo: Internet