Nguyen Du Memorial Site

Nguyen Du, born 1765 and died 1820, wrote Truyen Kieu - three thousand two hundred and fifty-four lines in the six-eight metre, telling the story of a woman who sells herself to save her family and spends fifteen years in misfortune before it is resolved. It is the central work of Vietnamese literature, taught in every school, quoted in ordinary speech, and used for boi Kieu, a folk practice of opening the book at random for divination. The memorial at his family's home ground at Tien Dien holds his grave, a museum with manuscripts and family material, and the ancestral hall. UNESCO marked his 250th anniversary in 2015.

What you actually see

• The poet's grave - at his family's ground in Tien Dien.
• A museum with manuscripts - and Nguyen family material.
• The Tale of Kieu - three thousand lines that everyone can quote.
• Boi Kieu - the practice of divining by opening the book.

When to go

Year round. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The site is modest and much of it is reconstruction. Interpretation is in Vietnamese and assumes you know the poem. Without some knowledge of Kieu it will not mean much. Ha Tinh is off the tourist route.

Nearby

Vinh is north across the river; Huong Tich pagoda is south.