Gò Công is a town district (''thị xã'') of

Tiền Giang province The term ''tiền'' ( Hán tự: 錢) is used to refer to various currency-related concepts used in Vietnamese history. The name is a cognate with the Chinese ''qián'' (錢), a unit of weight called " mace" in English. It can refer to a unit ...

in the

Mekong Delta The Mekong Delta ( vi, Đồng bằng Sông Cửu Long, lit=Nine Dragon River Delta or simply vi, Đồng Bằng Sông Mê Kông, lit=Mekong River Delta, label=none), also known as the Western Region ( vi, Miền Tây, links=no) or South-weste ...

region of

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

. The town of Gò Công is not to be confused with East Gò Công and West Gò Công Districts ( vi, huyện Gò Công Đông and ) which also belong to Tiền Giang Province.

The Royal Mausoleums

The Gò Công District has many canals, orchards and fields. It is the home of an ancient architectural complex called the Lang Hoang Gia (Royal Mausoleums). The mausoleum complex is located in Long Hung Commune in the district's Gò Công Town near National Highway 50, and about 30 kilometers from the province's Mỹ Tho Town. It is the place where people of the Pham Dang lineage, a clan of mandarins and courtiers famous in the southern region in the 18th and 19th centuries, were buried after they died.

The complex

All of the deceased aristocrats’ mausoleums were built facing each other on both sides of a road, over an area of nearly 3,000 square meters. The complex is surrounded by a wall which is 80 centimeters thick and 90 centimeters high. The ancient gate, decorated with immaculate detail, is covered with sheets of green moss. Two rows of pines form a path to the mausoleums.

Construction

The mausoleums were built by locals and skillful carpenters from Huế in the central region, so the complex reflects a traditional

Huế Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and ad ...

architectural style. Several kinds of precious woods were used in the construction of the mausoleum, mostly brought in from the then feudal capital of Huế. No nails were used to connect the wooden pillars, rafters or roof beams of the complex. Wooden tablets with sacred oriental animals and flowers are carved into the surface of much of the wood, creating a great solemnity inside the mausoleums, while imposing pillars add a majesty to the complex.

The Grand Duke

Among the 13 mausoleums built between 1811 and the early 20th century, the mausoleum of Grand Duke —father of Queen Consort (Phạm Thị Hằng) of the (1802–1945) and maternal grandfather of King

Tự Đức Tự Đức (, vi-hantu, 嗣德, lit. "inheritance of virtues", 22 September 1829 – 19 July 1883) (personal name: Nguyễn Phúc Hồng Nhậm , also Nguyễn Phúc Thì) was the fourth emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty of Vietnam; he ruled ...

(1829–1883)—is the most impressive of all. It is located on a mound covering more than 800 square meters and according to local residents, the grand duke was buried in a sitting position inside a two-layered coffin.Source: VietNamNet/TN Reported by Pham Du Ky

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Go Cong Populated places in Tiền Giang province Districts of Tiền Giang province County-level towns in Vietnam