Discovering ancient Tran Quoc pagoda
Tuesday, 19/02/2019 16:15 (GMT+7)
Tran Quoc pagoda is located on an islet within West Lake. Surrounded by lush greenery, it was a favourite among the kings and royal families for festivals, full moons, and Tet Festival.
Tran Quoc Pagoda is one of the oldest pagodas in Vietnam, and the oldest in Hanoi.
Tran Quoc pagoda was originally constructed in the sixth century during the reign of Emperor Ly Nam De (AD 541-547).
The pagoda is surrounded by lush trees and the surface of West Lake. Famous poets such as Nguyen Huy Luong, Ho Xuan Huong, Pham Thai Ba Huyen Thanh Quan went for walks and left their poems here.
The whole temple is a complex consisting of many layers of houses with three main houses: pre-street, incense house and upper place, connected to Cong ward.
In the pagoda 14 stone steles have been preserved, among them that of First Doctor Nguyen Xuan Chinh in 1639 and that of Doctor Pham Quy Thich in 1815.
Located in the pagoda, there is a lotus tower built in 1998. The tower is 15m high and has 11 floors. At the top of the tower, there is a nine-storey gable lotus, which is called the "lily of the valley".
Each floor has a vaulted window holding a statue of Amitabha made from gemstone. On the top stands a nine-storey lotus (Cửu đỉnh liên hoa) which is also gemstone.
In April 1962, Tran Quoc pagoda was listed as a national historic and cultural monument of Vietnam.
Compiled by BTA
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