Ba Phi Yen Temple (An Son Mieu)

A shrine beside An Hai Lake on Con Dao, where locals honour Lady Phi Yen with a death-anniversary ceremony recognised as National Intangible Heritage

About 2 km southwest of central Con Dao, on the road named Hoang Phi Yen beside An Hai Lake, An Son Mieu, also known as Mieu Ba Phi Yen, tops the list of the island's signature attractions. The shrine honours Lady Phi Yen, a consort of Lord Nguyen Phuc Anh, popularly known as Le Thi Ram; it also honours Prince Hoi An (Prince Cai) and Admiral Ngoc Lan. In 2007, the shrine was recognised as a provincial-level historical and cultural relic. Legend has it that for daring to dissuade Lord Nguyen from a momentous decision in the war against the Tay Son, she was imprisoned in a rock cave on a deserted island in the southwest of the archipelago, now called Hon Ba, and was then brought back to Co Ong village by two loyal animals, a black tiger and a white gibbon. She is said to have died in the year At Ty (1785) while living in An Hai village; to honour her merits and virtue, the villagers built a shrine to her. The present shrine is small, built in 1958 in the shape of the character "Nhat" (一); outside stands a stone stele recording the legend of Lady Phi Yen and Prince Cai, both regarded as having helped the lives of Con Dao's people. In the grounds, a group of ancient thi (persimmon) trees is part of the 79 ancient trees of Con Dao recognised as Vietnam Heritage Trees in 2012. Every year from the 16th to the 18th day of the 10th lunar month, the people of Con Dao solemnly hold her death-anniversary ceremony at the shrine, with the main day on the 18th; during the festival, the spirit tablet of Prince Hoi An is carried in procession from Mieu Cau to her shrine and returned after the ceremony. The Ba Phi Yen death-anniversary ceremony was recognised as National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2022, the first intangible heritage of the former Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province. From the shrine, Nui Mot Pagoda (Van Son Tu) is just a short distance further.

English text: machine translation from the Localis platform — proper names kept in Vietnamese.