The ancient temple is more than 300 years old and retains many historical values.
Thanh Am Pagoda, with the familiar name of Chay Pagoda, is located in Chan Ky village, Trung Tu commune, Ung Hoa district, Hanoi. The pagoda has a special position, associated with the history of the heroic Chay area of the Bac Ky Party Committee, which is the place that hid many revolutionary cadres in history.
Thanh Am Pagoda worships Our Lady of Fire, located 30 km south of Hanoi, this place is suitable for day trips to enjoy the quiet, peaceful feeling. Visitors to the pagoda will be surprised by the rustic countryside scenery that is very Vietnamese.
The pagoda was built in traditional architecture, imbued with the atmosphere of the Northern countryside.
According to history, the pagoda was built during the reign of King Le Hy Tong, the first abbot of the pagoda was Zen master Phap Nghien, whose religious name was Huyen Tien Dieu Tong. Up to now, Thanh Am pagoda has been more than 300 years old, the pagoda has an ancient, quiet and peaceful beauty. In 2016, the pagoda was rebuilt and restored to serve tourists and Buddhists from all over. Walking around the pagoda grounds, visitors will feel like they are going back in time, on a journey to find old values.
Image of Tam Bao church, an important architecture in Thanh Am pagoda.
The most important architecture of Thanh Am Pagoda is the Tam Bao house with a system of Buddha statues placed inside and outside the temple, bearing the mark of pagodas in the Northern Delta. On both sides of the main door are parallel sentences, inside are statues painted in red and gilded to bring visitors a sacred spiritual space.
The image of the Buddha statue placed in front of the sacred Tam Bao house.
Behind Tam Bao is the ancestral shrine with 9 rooms and 2 rows of porches for receiving guests, built entirely of wood. The ancestral shrine worships Our Lady of Fire and the abbots of Thanh Am Pagoda.
The space around the pagoda brings a peaceful, relaxing feeling. The path to the pagoda is guided by cool, green tree canopies. The pagoda recreates a familiar picture of a Northern Vietnamese village with lotus ponds, tea tables, soy sauce jars, wooden trellises... In the middle of the lotus pond are decorated with 2 tea tables for visitors to sit and enjoy the scenery.
The entrance to the temple is covered with green foliage.
The tea table is placed in the middle of the lotus pond so visitors can enjoy tea and enjoy the scenery.
Although the architecture is quite simple, with a rustic countryside setting with cool green bamboo bushes, thatched roofs, fragrant lotus ponds, creating an impressive green space, Thanh Am Pagoda has brought visitors peaceful and pure feelings when walking around here. The scenery of the pagoda evokes many thoughts about life, as a reminder of the flow of time, hoping that people can then appreciate the beautiful life more, try to overcome the hardships in life to move towards enlightenment.
The view of the temple evokes many thoughts about the laws of life.
The temple has many ideal spaces for visitors to lie in hammocks, enjoy tea, and enjoy nature. Many visitors come here every weekend or holiday, to find moments of relaxation for their souls after the hustle and bustle of life.
The miniature landscape in the temple is delicately and meticulously decorated.
The temple space is filled with cool bamboo shade.
What attracts many tourists to visit here is something that is not available everywhere, that is the opportunity to enjoy lotus tea, wrapped from lotus flowers grown in the pagoda. Hot cups of lotus tea from Thanh Am Pagoda have become the pride and a special feature of Ung Hoa countryside, Hanoi.
Nowadays, the monks still maintain the practice of making lotus tea to serve tourists. This demonstrates the efforts of the pagoda in preserving and promoting the cultural identity of the homeland, the flexibility and creativity in adapting to the innovations of social life.
The ancestral house behind the pagoda and the guest houses on both sides are built of bamboo and wood.
Every detail of the decoration in the temple is taken care of by the meticulous hands of the monks and Buddhists.
With its poetic, rustic scenery, the pagoda attracts many tourists and Buddhists from near and far.
"The temple roof protects the soul of the nation
"The eternal way of life of our ancestors".
For a long time, the temple roof has been considered a symbolic image of the Vietnamese way of life, becoming a place for spiritual activities, a place to heal and experience a simple life for those who want to temporarily forget the hustle and bustle of the city. Coming to Thanh Am Pagoda, it seems that all worries and sorrows will disappear, instead, visitors will have a feeling of peace and serenity as if they are walking in a pure land on earth.
