Big House at Long Son

The architectural complex of Nha Lon (Big House) on Long Son Island (Vung Tau Town) is one of the places of interest in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.

On the right-hand side of National Highway 51, the section from Ba Ria to Vung Tau, is a mountain range and also an island. This is Long Son Commune, which belongs to Vung Tau Town of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. The island is connected to the mainland by a bridge.
Apart from its pristine scenery, the island is well-known for Nha Lon, an architectural complex certified as a historical and cultural relic in 1991 by the Ministry of Culture and Information.
Nha Lon is made of wood with red roof tiles. It was built between 1910 and 1929 by Le Van Huu, an emigrant from the Mekong Delta province of Ha Tien (present-day Kien Giang Province) to worship the sacred beings. Huu also built five rows of houses for new settlers.
Huu often worked all day long and at night taught his relatives and villagers the art of living.
He was respectfully called Ong Tran. After he passed away in 1935, his lessons became a folk religion which was named “Dao Ong Tran” (Mister Tran’s religion). At Nha Lon, most of the objects from the time of reclamation and settlement are preserved.

The most outstanding items include a set of table and chairs carved with pictures of eight saints, a set of 33 worshipping cabinets inlaid with mother-of-pearl and a set of silk paintings depicting Luc Van Tien, the hero of an epic poem by Nguyen Dinh Chieu (1822-1888).

Every year, on the anniversary of Ong Tran’s death (February 20 in the lunar calendar) and on the Festival of Praying for Happiness (September 9 in the lunar calendar), a large number of visitors gather at Nha Lon where they are served with a free vegetarian meal and offered free accommodation.

Source: Thanh Nien