1. Ba Da pagoda
Located in No.3 Nha Tho street, near ST.Joseph’s Cathedral, Ba Da pagoda is about 1000 years old. In legendary, Ba Da pagoda had another name’s Linh Quang pagoda or Sung Khanh pagoda, was built in 1056. Now Ba Da pagoda is the oldest pagoda in Hanoi old quarter and near Hoan Kiem lake. It is the headquarters of Municipal Buddhist Association.
In the 20th century, Ho Ch Minh president is said to have visited the pagoda successfully engaging the monks in his independence struggles against the French. Ba Da pagoda remains one of Hanoi’s most important Buddhist sights. It’s beautifully decorated and most times, serene – a great place to spend time during a walk in Hanoi
Going through the entrance arch and along a narrow passage you come to a courtyard. An elderly monk, the keeper of the pagoda, presides at a stall selling Buddhist books. He took us into the pagoda, after lighting incense sticks and praying at the stone incense burner. In the courtyard are stupas, with the names of past monks and religious symbols written in Hanoi script and formed with ceramic pieces.
The pagoda consists of one large chamber, dominated by the six statues of Buddha, the hindmost and most sizable of which reaches to the ceiling. Though many of the ancient decorations were lost in the fire, the two bronze bells, cast in 1873 and 1881, and a crescent gong from 1842 survived. The first bronze bell can be seen at the entrance of the pagoda on the right-hand side, while on the left-hand side is a modern bell.
Written on the brass panel outside of the pagoda is a short poem. This uses the name Linh Quang for the pagoda and the old name for Hanoi:
Linh Quang pagoda is in the heart of Thang Long.
The way of truth is both visible and invisible,
The magic of the stone was sent from heaven to earth,
This majestic place stands near the beautiful Sword Lake.
2. Ly Quoc Su pagoda
Ly Quoc Su temple is far away from Ba Da pagoda about 100m, located in 50 Ly Quoc Su street. It was built in 1131 under Ly Than Tong King dynasty. Its name’s Ly Quoc Su pagoda to worships a Buddhist Monk of the Ly Dynasty, his really name is Nguyen Chi Thanh.
In 1077, at the age of 11, Nguyen Chi Thanh began practicing for the Buddhist monkhood and was taught by Tu Dao Hanh, a well-known monk. As the legend says, Monk Tu Dao Hanh was erudite in Buddhism and excellent in healing. He admired and respected Nguyen Chi Thanh's talent and virtue. In 1138, in his seventies, Monk Nguyen Chi Thanh cured King Ly Than Tong of a disease that many famous doctors had failed to do. For his respectful virtue and talent, he was given the title Ly Quoc Su by the King, which meant Great Monk and Merit Teacher of the nation. That is why when he died at the age of 75 at Giao Thuy Pagoda in Nam Dinh in 1141, King Ly Anh Tong (holding power from 1138 to 1175) had a temple erected right on the ground of the residential quarter where Ly Quoc Su had lived.
Nowadays, Ly Quoc Su Pagoda is a popular worshipping place for the local on the first and fifteenth day of every month in Lunar Calendar.
3. Bach Ma temple
In the heart of the Old Quarter, the small Bach Ma Temple is said to be the oldest temple in the city, though much of the current structure dates from the 18th century and a shrine to Confucius was added in 1839. It was originally built by Emperor Ly Thai To in the 11th century to honour a white horse that guided him to this site, where he chose to construct his city walls.
One day, when the king was praying, a white horse suddenly appeared in his dream and pointed to an area with its hoof prints. King Ly Thai To understood that the white horse was indicating a good site for the construction of the citadel, so he immediately chose such area to build his wall. Surprisingly, the wall no longer collapsed afterwards and the citadel was thus successfully constructed. Therefore, Bach Ma Temple, which is located around the center of Ha Noi Old Quarter, was built to honor the white horse that gave him such important guidance
Pass through the wonderful old wooden doors of the pagoda to see a statue of the legendary white horse, as well as beautiful red-lacquered funeral palankeen.
4. Ngoc Son temple (Temple of the Jade mountain)
Located at the northern end of Hoan Kiem Lake, Ngoc Son ("Jade Mountain") Temple is one of the most famous temples in Hanoi. Tourists in Vietnam Tourism who travel to Hoan Kiem Lake should not ignore this special temple.
when Ngoc Son Temple was built on an island in the 19th century. The temple was constructed during the 19th century as a memorial towards famous Vietnamese and Chinese legends who contributed to the country’s welfare. The commemorated heroes at the temple include the military general Tran Hung Dao, the scholar Saint Van Xuong and the Confucian artist Nguyen Van Sieu. To access this famous tourist attraction in Hanoi, visitors will have to pass through the colourful Huc Bridge. The Ngoc Son Temple surroundings are extremely peaceful and are ideal to relax in and enjoy natural beauty.
Within the temple, visitors will see a sculpture of a tortoise that is believed by many to be the legendary tortoise that used to dwell in the Hoan Kiem Lake. Folklore speaks of how Emperor Le Thai To was cruising along the lake, when a large tortoise appeared out of the waters and captured his sword which he had used in battle to secure a victory against Chinese opposition. It is said that the lake acquired its current name as a result of this legendary event.
5. Huyen Thien pagoda
Located in 54 Hang Khoai street, near Dong Xuan market. It was buit in Ly dynasty. Although Huyen Thien pagoda is opposite Dong Xuan market which is busy and noisy all day time, come inside the pagoda, it’s very quiet and sacred for Buddhists to pray and visit.
This pagoda design had been restored and repaired many times, and it was fixed again in the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945). Its main hall is solemnly arranged. It has preserved many artistic wooden statue such as the statues of Bồ Tát Quan Âm, Thế Chí, Văn Thù, Phổ Hiền, Hộ Pháp (each standing 3m high). Huyen Thien Pagoda also has the statue of Huyen Thien Tran Vu. Pagodas are places of ancient Thang Long citadel.
Religious visitor often come to Huyen Thien Pagoda at the Lunar New Year, on the first and fifteenth day of the Lunar month, and to workship and pray for health , luck and happiness.
6. Dong Huong Temple
Located in 82 Hang Trong street. Dong Huong Temple was built to worship a Ca Tru singer (Ca Tru is Vietnam’s unique form of singing poetry, recognized as a UNESCO heritage in 2009) who helped fighting invaders in the 15th century. According to the story, under the Le dynasty, Ming aggressors brought a lot of soldiers to occupy the country. Then a beautiful singer lured many of the invaders with her voice and tricked them into sleeping in sleeping bags. Then she and others threw those bags carrying those invaders into the river to kill them. After the country regained its peace and independence, her patriotism and bravery were recognized by the king and the temple was built to honor her as a result. Dong Huong Temple modestly lies inside Ha Noi Old Quarter, representing the local’s pride in their vigorous patriotic tradition.
7. Cau Dong temple
Located in Hang Duong street, Cau Dong temple is the only place in the city paying homage to Grand Chancellor Tran Thu Do, founder of the Tran Dynasty (1225 to 1400). Compared with other ancient pagodas in Hanoi, Cau Dong Pagoda is known for preserving nearly 60 valuable ancient statues of Buddha. The most important antiques of the Pagoda are the statues of present, past and future, all of which were carved in the first half of the 18th century. These are rare, precious and beautiful statues with high artistic value, which are shown with ornamental items, such as the necklaces and female facial features with all standards of statues in the 17th – 18th centuries in Vietnam. In the great shrine dedicated to the kings of hell there is a Tuyet Son statue with beautiful carvings which is also a rare and precious statue.
Moved and inspired by the merits and activities of Grand Chancellor Tran Thu Do and his wife, Tran Thi Dung, the local people around Cua Dong Pagoda erected their statues and worship them, creating a unique feature of this ancient pagoda in the heart of Thang Long – Hanoi.
8. Nam Huong temple
The pagoda is located upstairs, with the ground floor on Hang Trong street rented out. The next house is the home of an elderly lady who is the keeper of the temple, refreshing the flowers and offerings and cleaning the temple. Nam Huong is also the dinh (community center) of the ‘village’ of Hang Trong.
In the dinh are accoutrements typical of many pagodas. There are wooden gourds and brass pots in front of the altars with wooden sticks for beating time when meditating – 5, 10 or 15 times on the wooden pot but only once on the brass one. There are several low lecterns for placing books, and wooden beads for counting to help concentration while meditating.
Inside the temple, visitors can have a look at many works of art dating from the 18th century.
9. Phu Ung temple
Phu Ung temple is located in 25 Ly Quoc Su street. It was built in 18th century by immigrants who were from Phu Ung village, Hung Yen province and moved to Hanoi. Phu Ung temple was built to worship Pham Ngu Lao, the national hero , he was born in Phu Yen village. Visitors experience a peaceful, sacred atmosphere inside the temple and have the opportunities to admire beautiful Buddhist statues inside the temple.
10. Hoe Nhai pagoda
Located in 19 Hang Than street. Hoe Nhai Pagoda, also called Hong Phuc Tu (Pagoda of Immense Beatitude), was one of the large ancient pagodas in the ancient Thang Long Citadel. The pagoda was built under the Ly Dynasty (1010-1225) on a large area. The pagoda consists of two worshiping houses, each having five compartments, a sanctum with three compartments and an ancestor-worshipping chamber with seven compartments.
The pagoda has now retained a bronze plaque, 1m high and 1.5m wide cast in the Year of the Tiger dated to the 3rd Long Duc Year (1631) under the reign of King Le Than Tong (1619-1643), a bronze drum cast in the Dynasty of King Tu Duc (1848-1883) and a series of statues made from precious woods and fumigated bronze.
With its artistic, ancient and religious value, Hoe Nhai Pagoda attracts a large number of visitors.
Each statue has its own artistic value, lively depicting the portraits of new-born Sakyamuni, Amitabha Buddha and Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, particularly Senior Monk Thich Duc Nhuan who glorified the Vietnamese Buddhism in the 20th century. However, the most salient characteristic of the pagoda is the statue of Buddha sitting on the back of a prostrating king.
>>>Read more: HANOI – PARADISE OF STREET FOOD TOUR IN THE WORLD
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