Ancient temple in the heart of Hai Phong is crowded on the first day of Tet

Dong Thien Pagoda (literally Hai Ninh Tu) is located on Thien Loi Street, Le Chan District, Hai Phong City, one of the crowded and bustling central neighborhoods of the city. According to legend and the content of the stele, Dong Thien Pagoda was built in the 30s by the Council of Goodness. Therefore, the name Dong Thien Pagoda means that the pagoda was built from the good hearts of people.

The pagoda has a majestic and spacious architecture consisting of many horizontal and vertical buildings, facing the Northeast. The two layers of the pagoda's three-door gate are along the "Than Dao" road. Connecting the first three-door gate with the second three-door gate is an incense burning house and a round lake, with a large cemetery on both sides of the pagoda.

The second gate leads to the main structure of the pagoda, which also doubles as a large bell tower, rarely seen in other Vietnamese pagodas. The main gate is built on a three-story, eight-roofed building, with familiar curved eaves and “Dragons and Phoenixes”. The top floor has round windows facing four directions, while the second floor has an arched door, with a large bronze bell hanging inside.

The carvings at the project all focus on the themes of dragon - unicorn - turtle - phoenix, pine - chrysanthemum - bamboo - apricot.

On both sides of the bell tower's gate is a majestic flat-roofed structure, with four corners erected with square columns in the style of copper pillars, further increasing the scale of the building.

The Buddha Hall facing the main gate through the “meditation yard” has a traditional Chinese character-shaped structure consisting of 7 front rooms, 3 tube-shaped rooms, and 3 back rooms. The unique feature of the temple’s architecture is that the back room is built in the style of “3-storey, 8-roofed overlapping” towering over the overall architecture of the temple.

The Buddhist temple stands out with large inscriptions, horizontal lacquered boards, parallel sentences, robes and statues. The Tam Bao throne is home to the statues of Tam The, Amitabha, Quan Am Thien Phu, Thien Nhon with 11 pairs of hands. Statues of Buddha and Bodhisattva Manjushri, Samantabhadra riding on a green lion and a white elephant. Statues of the Nine Dragons throne with the infant Sakyamuni. Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha wearing a seven-Buddha crown sits on a lotus throne, his hands raised to shoulder height, holding up the sun and a strip of clouds symbolizing the boundless Dharma. Statue of Quan Am Nam Hai is depicted standing on a lotus pedestal, below is the O Ban Nam Da Long Vuong with the face of a demon emerging from the waves of the sea...

According to Lao Dong reporters, on the morning of the first day of Tet, thousands of tourists came to the most sacred pagoda in Hai Phong city to visit, burn incense, and pray for luck.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Ha (Lam Son Street, Le Chan, Hai Phong) said: "For more than 10 years, my family has maintained the practice of going to Dong Thien Pagoda on the first day of the new year. In the middle of the bustling city, the large temple grounds and peaceful space help the family have a meaningful journey to start the new year."