Remembering the Battle of the Bach Dang River (1288): Heritage, landscape and cultural values Paddy O'TOOLE Monash University, Faculty of Education, Clayton, VIC, Australia 61412347280, paddy.otoole@monash.edu Abstract This paper presents research being undertaken in northern Vietnam around the site of the Battle of the Bach Dang River, which took place in 1288 AD. This paper shows how memory, intangible and tangible cultural heritage, and landscape have manifested around where the battle took place and have synthesised through the social production of remembering into a model of commemoration that informs cultural values at the local and national levels. I argue that the elements and interactions of this model need to be acknowledged and understood when planning future development. Keywords: collective memory, cultural heritage, landscape Introduction The research that informed this paper is part of interdisciplinary research activities undertaken through the Bach Dang River and Van Don Research Project, which investigates the archaeology, material culture and collective memory surrounding a battle that is venerated throughout Vietnam. The project commenced as an archaeology project that involved both maritime and terrestrial archaeology. Archaeologists from Vietnam, the USA and Australia worked together with an initial goal of finding and excavating shipwreck sites from the original 1288 battle in the Bach Dang River. As time went on, the focus of the research broadened, and the author, a sociologist, was invited to join the project to investigate the stories told about the battle by local people. The Battle of the Bach Dang River took place in 1288 between the Dai Viet (Vietnamese) and the invading forces of Kublai Khan, the Mongol emperor who reigned from 1260 to 1294 and founded the Yuan Dynasty in China. The commanding general of the Dai Viet, Tran Hung Dao, used a clever strategy drawn from the past to overcome the superior forces of Kublai Khan. But Tran Hung Dao did not win the Battle against the Yuan by himself. During a pre- battle reconnaissance, he met an old lady selling tea. Her knowledge of the tidal nature of the river and the composition of the river bed enabled him to create the strategy that ultimately gave victory to the Dai Viet. He then galvanised the Dai Viet people to plant stake beds in the Bach Dang River that paralysed the Mongol fleet. The Battle of the Bach Dang River is a story where the Hero and the common people support each other to overcome the common enemy. Resistance to the Invader is a common theme in Vietnamese culture, and is strongly reflected in the stories of Tran Hung Dao 1 . The Battle of the Bach Dang River is regarded as making manifest significant cultural values inherent in Vietnamese national identity. In this paper, cultural heritage, collective memory and commemoration are discussed, cultural sites related to Tran Hung Dao and the battle are 1 (Nhàn, 2008; Roszko, 2011)