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Mysterious Nham Duong cave system
Thanh Minh 09:10, 2018/01/16
A system of limestone mountains, caves and natural landscapes in Nham Duong historical and scenic complex (Duy Tan commune, Kinh Mon district, Hai Duong province) is rare masterpiece of Hai Duong and the whole country.
Nham Duong mountain range with a system of 26 large and small caves bears a number of amazing and interesting things. Especially, Tinh Niem grotto and Thanh Hoa grotto were used as tourist attractions.
 
The entrance of Thanh Hoa grotto
Thanh Hoa grotto is located at the foot of the mountain behind Nham Duong temple. The grotto which has an area of about 100m2 looks smaller and smaller from the entrance to the end point. There are many stalactites with various shapes on the grotto walls. Heading deeper and deeper inside, the interior space becomes narrower and darker. So far the grotto depth hasn’t identified because the end of the cave still has many fossils on the walls.
 
From 2000 to 2001, Hai Duong Museum has conducted many studies and concluded Thanh Hoa grotto is an important archaeological relic of the country. The fossil remains of 27 animal species such as elephant, rhino, tiger, leopard, wild boar, porcupine, etc. and a lot of Pongo (orangutan) teeth were found there. The fossils and relics date back 30,000 to 50,000 years. 
 
Stalactites in Thanh Hoa grotto
Stalactites in Thanh Hoa grotto
4-meter-thick culture layer in Thanh Hoa grotto contains many valuable relics having been not discovered yet. If the excavation continues, it will definitely bring many important conclusions about the development of human beings.
 
Meanwhile, Tinh Niem grotto or Wind grotto, Bat grotto is the place where ancestral monk Thuy Nguyet with his disciples used to practice meditation and discuss on Buddhist philosophy. Later, in the resistance war against the French colonialist, the cave became the refuge of revolutionary soldiers such as Hoang Quoc Viet, Le Thanh Nghi, Nguyen Cong Hoa, etc.
 
The altar in Tinh Niem grotto
The altar in Tinh Niem grotto
During the Anti-American war, this was also the site where an artillery squad and hospital of 7th Military Hospital, 3rd Military Zone garrisoned. Some soldiers were killed in the cave when the US bombs caused the cave entrance to collapse. Archaeologists have also found a number of artifacts belonging to the Dong Son culture including bronze jars, pediform bronze axes, bronze axes with shoulders. It’s likely that Tinh Niem grotto is an archaeological site dating back to the late Stone Age.
 
There is also an ancient temple of Tao Dong Zen sect built in the Tran dynasty (1225 - 1400), which once contributed to making Buddhism prosper in the history of Buddhism in Vietnam. Still preserved at the temple are two stone towers from the Le dynasty and storing the relics of 1st patriarch, Zen master Thuy Nguyet and 2nd patriarch Tong Dien.
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