Lots of damage from the fire
As reported, at around 10 a.m on October 23, a major fire broke out at Pho Quang Pagoda (also known as Xuan Lung Pagoda) in Zone 4, Xuan Lung Commune, Lam Thao District. The initial estimated property damage was around 25 billion VND.
Arriving at Zone 4, Xuan Lung Commune in late October, Lao Dong Newspaper reporters noted that Pho Quang Pagoda is located among tall green trees in a densely populated area of Xuan Lung Commune, only about 400m from the dike road on the left of Thao River (Red River).
Entering Pho Quang Pagoda with the leaders of Xuan Lung Commune People's Committee and representatives of Pho Quang Pagoda Relic Management Board, the reporter understood the pain and regret of the people after the damage left by the fire.
The place where the fire occurred - the Tam Bao temple of Pho Quang pagoda has a Cong-shaped architecture including the Front Hall, the Incense Burning Hall and the Upper Hall; the entire wooden structure of the truss frame, rafters, and purlins are made of good quality ironwood, the roof is covered with fish-tail tiles; the project was renovated and embellished in 2021 - 2022.
According to the preliminary assessment of the damage by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Phu Tho province (in document No. 917/SVHTTDL-QLDSVH dated October 24), after the fire, the entire roof was burned, tiles fell and broke; the load-bearing column system and doors were completely burned.
The red brick wall system has many cracks, especially in the Thieu Huong and Thuong Dien buildings. The tiled floor and the column base system are cracked and broken. The worship statue system, clay and wooden statues have broken details such as heads, hands, feet, etc., and the gilded paint layer is gone due to heat.
In particular, the National Treasure Stone Buddhist Altar (Lotus Stone Pedestal) was covered in smoke and some corners were cracked, broken, and had layers separated...
Protecting what remains
Speaking to Lao Dong Newspaper reporter, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Chinh - Deputy Head of the Management Board of Pho Quang Pagoda - said that after the authorities completed the work of blocking off the scene, collecting information, investigating the cause of the fire... the management board, Xuan Lung commune and many local people organized to clean and sanitize the pagoda.
According to Mr. Chinh, the management board is currently actively coordinating with the Party Committee, the authorities of Xuan Lung commune and functional agencies to carry out tasks to ensure the safety of the relic and the system of relics and antiquities, especially the National Treasure of the stone Buddhist altar in the pagoda.
“The national treasure of the stone Buddha altar, Xuan Lung commune has built a hard frame to preserve it, carefully covering it to avoid the impact of rain, wind, tiles, rafters and other wooden structures falling down. With the statues, from the current damage, it is possible to restore about 90% of the original,” Mr. Chinh shared.
In the immediate future, to ensure the safety of the remaining assets and artifacts, the management board and Xuan Lung commune will build a roof to cover the entire Tam Bao pagoda. After that, research and propose a plan to renovate and embellish Pho Quang pagoda, actively mobilizing social resources to implement it as soon as possible, meeting the religious needs of the people.
Mr. Chinh also reaffirmed: "The management board of Pho Quang pagoda relic and related agencies have not issued any documents on the content of calling for donations and support to rebuild the items of the pagoda damaged after the fire. Therefore, the information calling for donations on social networks is incorrect."
According to research, Pho Quang Pagoda is about 800 years old and still preserves many valuable relics and antiques from many eras from Tran, Le, Nguyen.
Most notably, Pho Quang Pagoda has a stone Buddhist altar crafted in 1387, recognized as a National Treasure in 2021.
