Sam Mountain

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Sam (horseshoe-crabs) Mountain: the Myth and Natural Scenery

Following a broad way which is 60 kilometers from the west of Long Xuyen (Long Xuyên) city, An Giang province, you will arrive in the romantic and mythical Sam Mountain. This place doesn't only attract the tourists by its natural landscape, but it also consists of many famous architecture vestiges, cultures which have been engraved in the Nam Bo (Nam Bộ) people.

The road to Sam Mountain

Sam Mountain also known by its Chinese name as Hoc Lanh Son (Học Lãnh Sơn) also known as Vinh Te Son (Vĩnh Tế Sơn) is 230 meters high. This mountain is 5 kilometers away from Chau Doc (Châu Đốc) town. In the past, this place belonged to Vinh Te (Vĩnh Tế) village. In the period of King Gia Long, it belonged to Tay Xuyen (Tây Xuyên) district, Ha Tien (Hà Tiên) town. In 1835, King Minh Mang reset the administrative border, so the Sam Mountain belonged to Chau Doc town, An Giang province.

According to the legend, this place was once sea. After thousands years of alluvium, it gradually became a rich delta. Sam Mountain was a small mountain which was famous for its horseshoe-crabs as well as their mythical stories. It is said that there was a cave of the eagle which kidnapped a princess. Thach Sanh (Thạch Sanh) (a hero in a mythical story) then rescued the princess. In the wattle wall of the cave, there seems to be a picture of a person with a head of the ogress in his shoulder. He is leading the princess by his left hand. There is a wide, large access to the second cave next to the first one. At the "mouth" of the cave, there is an Altar of the God of the sea. At the bottom of the cave, there are many stones which don't reflect the light. These stones absorb the light of the flash-lamp. We can only use the light from the oil-lamp. The access to the top of the Sam Mountain is just wonderful like a picture. The well-off An Giang can be seen more clearly when you are closed to the top of the mountain: a side is the sea; another is a green rice-field.

Sam Mountain

In the "nuoc noi" ("nước nổi") season (in the rainy season, flood caused by the water from the Mekong river), the Sam Mountain looks like a huge horseshoe-crab swimming. Along its eastern side, you can find "la giang" ("lá giang") (Ecdysanthera rosea) - a well-known special product of An Giang which is used to make the special, and tasty soul.

There are many famous landscapes on the Sam Mountain such as: Tao Ngo (Tao Ngộ), Phao Dai (Pháo Đài) garden; Bach Van (Bạch Vân), Da Chet (Đá Chet) Hill and so on. The most special thing is that there is a population of historical vestiges around the mountain which is nationally rated by Vietnamese Government such as Tay An (Tây An) pagoda, Ba Chua Xu (Bà Chúa Xứ) (the region goddess) temple, Thoai Ngoc Hau (Thoại Ngọc Hầu) tomb, and Hang pagoda. These vestiges were built in 19th century. The most splendid among them is the Ba Chua Xu temple which is very famous for its supernatural power. Annually, this temple attracts many tourists, especially at Via Ba (Viá bà) (the soul of the goddess) festival which happens at the beginning of the first to the fifth month of the lunar year.

Source: simplevietnam.com

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