Minh Khanh Pagoda is also known as Huong Dai Pagoda in the ancient Binh Ha village, now in Zone 6, Thanh Ha town, Thanh Ha district, Hai Duong province.
Minh Khanh Pagoda belongs to the Northern Song system, built at the end of the Ly Dynasty. At the end of the 13th century, King Tran Nhan Tong - the king who led the resistance war against the Chinese - Mong army, and was also the first founder of the Truc Lam Viet Nam Zen sect - when he visited here, he named the pagoda Minh Khanh.
According to the stele at the pagoda, in the 13th century, King Tran Nhan Tong, on his way from Trang An (Ninh Binh) base, joined Hung Dao Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan, who was stationed here, to train soldiers. Before the departure, the King set up a festival to worship the Buddha, worship the sky and earth and then cut the blood to swore in front of the pagoda with the determination to destroy the Nguyen - Mong army.
The pagoda's architecture is built in the traditional "Inner Foreign Affairs of the Capital" style. The three-door gate is on the roof of a three-story steephouse. After the three-door gate is a long brick yard passing through a pagoda well, which is the yard in front of the road. Next to it is a small entrance to the pagoda. Behind the road is the incense burning tower and then to the upper hall.
Along the right frame of the road is the corridor extending down to the Road Group, on the left side opposite is the tomb garden. The main pagoda is decorated in the style of "Buddha and Son of the Holy Mother" combined with the idea of "three priests of the same era".
Currently, Minh Khanh Pagoda is preserving 9 black grains with holes like the monk's seed lining, according to legend, those 9 grains are the grains of the cross of King Tran Nhan Tong. In addition, there are 6 parallel sentences dating back to before the 20th century, 5 large scale, 13 royal decrees and 18 ancient statues.
In the pagoda yard, there is a small tower placed in front of the road called the blood certificate tower - where King Tran Nhan Tong left the blood certificate. The pagoda also has 8 ancient stone pedestal in the campus, chosen as a place for the priests to place the tree tray to pay the royal favor and compete in the festival...
With its cultural and historical values, Minh Khanh Pagoda was ranked as a National Historical - Cultural Relic in 1990.
The traditional festival of Minh Khanh Pagoda is held annually starting from October 28 to November 3 of the lunar calendar to commemorate the death of Buddha Hoang Tran Nhan Tong. The festival not only attracted local people but also attracted a large number of Buddhists from all over to attend. The festival part has a beauty procession, a fruit tray procession, a sex offender and a offering ceremony. The festival includes folk games such as chess, water puppetry, chicken fighting and performances such as Cheo singing, Quan Ho singing...
