Con Son-Kiep Bac historical complex in the northern province of Hai Duong has been recognised as a Special National Heritage and a ceremony to welcome the title was held at the site on Oct. 1.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc attended the event and handed over the government’s certificate of recognition to the provincial officials.

A wide range of ceremonial, cultural and sporting activities was also launched in the province on Oct. 1 to celebrate the recognition and herald the Con Son – Kiep Bac Autumn Festival 2012.

The highlight of the festival was the commemoration of the 712 th anniversary of the death of national hero General Tran Hung Dao, as well as 570 th anniversary of the death of Nguyen Trai, who was awarded the title "Great Man of Culture of the World" by UNESCO in 1980.

Spanning a total area of 8ha in Chi Linh, Con Son-Kiep Bac historical site is entwined with the lives and causes of Gen Tran Hung Dao and Nguyen Trai.

The site used to be a defence line built by the general at the end of the 13 th century to protect the Thang Long Imperial Citadel.

It witnessed important battles between the Tran dynasty's Vietnamese soldiers and the Yuan-Mongol invaders from the north.

Con Son site, surrounded by pine trees, marked the pure and upright life of Nguyen Trai (1380-1442), one of Vietnam 's most famous poets and writers. Born in Con Son, he often mentioned the site in his poems and stories, and returned there for a year in 1437. The main pagoda at the site was built to commemorate him.

Today, Con Son-Kiep Bac includes a number of historical and cultural sites related to the glorious feats of the Vietnamese people and army over the Yuan-Mongol invasion, as well as the lives and careers of the two great Vietnamese personalities. It is one of the places where the Truc Lam Buddhism sect originated during the Tran dynasty.

Vietnam has so far had 34 special heritages with the recently-approved 11 ones, including architectural and archeological heritage of Co Loa (Hanoi), historical and architectural site of Tran Dynasty’s temple and Pho Minh pagoda (Nam Dinh province), historical site to mark Bach Dang victory in 1288 (Uong Bi, Quang Ninh province), Yen Tu historical site (Quang Ninh province), Lam Kinh historical site (Thanh Hoa province), Nguyen Du memorial site (Ha Tinh province), architectural monument of the Keo pagoda (Thai Binh province), ancient archeological and architectural site Oc Eo-Ba The (An Giang province), Go Thap historical and archeological relic (Dong Thap province), Ba Be lake (Bac Kan province), and the Cat Tien national park (Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai and Lam Dong provinces).