Dai Bi Pagoda (Dai Bi Tu) is located in Nam Truc commune, Ninh Binh province (Nam Giang town, Nam Truc district, old Nam Dinh province). The pagoda is about 103km from the center of Hanoi city, taking about more than 2 hours by car.

According to folk legend, hundreds of years ago, Saint Tu Dao Hanh and his mother stopped here and built a small hermitage to worship Buddha.

After nearly 1,000 years, that shrine has now become the majestic Dai Bi Pagoda in the heart of Thanh Nam, attracting thousands of Buddhist followers and tourists to visit and worship every year.

In addition to worshiping Buddha, the pagoda also worships Saint Tu Dao Hanh. Currently, the abbot of Dai Bi Pagoda is monk Thich Ban Thuc.

DSCF2388.JPG
Dai Bi Pagoda - one of the familiar spiritual places for people in Nam Truc commune, Ninh Binh province. Photo: Phuong Anh

As one of the familiar spiritual destinations in the locality, Dai Bi Pagoda impresses visitors with its unique architectural space, containing very profound meanings. The pagoda has up to 60 rooms, mostly made of ironwood. The entire relic has a balanced and sturdy layout.

In the past, when the roads were not convenient, people from far away went to the festival, sometimes it lasted for a whole month. At that time, there were no motels or hotels, so people who came to worship and visit often stayed right in the temple corridor.

Therefore, to give people a place to rest during the festival days, the pagoda was designed with rooms made of ironwood, which are durable, beautiful and airy," said abbot Thich Ban Thuc.

In addition to its architectural highlights, Dai Bi Pagoda also impresses visitors with its sacredness. Here, people often tell each other about the "predestined relationships" that blossomed and bore fruit through festivals at the pagoda: "Twenty recitations of Dai Bi Pagoda/ Men get married, women get married".

Master Thich Ban Thuc said: “Originally, there was no arrangement at all. Because the Dai Bi Pagoda festival is very sacred, many people from all over the country came here, both men and women. So they naturally ‘bumped’ into each other.”

The temple architecture is made entirely of ironwood with sophisticated carvings. Photo: Phuong Anh

The best time to visit Dai Bi Pagoda is in January every year. During this time, the pagoda holds a festival (taking place from January 21 to 23) and opens the only market of the year in the pagoda grounds on January 8, also known as Vieng fair.

In addition to sightseeing and worship, when coming to the pagoda during the festival and participating in the Vieng market to "buy luck and sell bad luck" at the beginning of the year, visitors also have the opportunity to participate in other attractive folk entertainment activities such as water puppetry, wrestling, chess, word pulling,...

“Dai Bi Pagoda is always the place I take my family to visit every Tet holiday to remind my children of the pride of my hometown - the old Nam Dinh province.

Moreover, in this digital age, I want my children to participate in traditional folk entertainment activities so that they can better understand Vietnamese culture. From there, they will appreciate historical values ​​more. They will also have time to put down their phones to enjoy playing with their parents," said Mr. Luong Minh Doan, a tourist.

Dai Bi Pagoda was recognized as a National Historical and Cultural Relic in 1964 and Dai Bi Pagoda Festival was recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2020. Photo: Phuong Anh

Although nearly 1,000 years have passed, the temple's conservation work has been very well done. The relics are still carefully preserved to this day.

With its long history, Dai Bi Pagoda is not only a sacred place that attracts many tourists from all over the world, but also a cultural symbol and pride of the local people.

If you have the opportunity to visit here, in addition to visiting Dai Bi Pagoda, visitors can combine exploring Hai Thinh beach (Thinh Long town, old Hai Hau district) - about 40km from Dai Bi Pagoda. With its characteristic white sand and always clear blue sea, this is a destination worth experiencing.

In addition, there are many other attractive tourist destinations in the area such as: Co Le Pagoda; Rang Dong Beach,...

Besides sightseeing and entertainment activities, visitors coming here should not forget to enjoy delicious dishes and specialties such as: Do Quan bread; Xiu Pao cake; Sung vermicelli; Giao Thuy spring rolls; Ba Thi gai cake,...

Phuong Anh

Early retirement, Hanoi woman travels to 80 countries, tells 'most troublesome' story In early October, Ms. Nguyen Bich Ngoc (Hanoi) traveled to Turkey - the 80th country she set foot in.


Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/doc-dao-ngoi-chua-xe-duyen-cach-ha-noi-hon-100km-niu-chan-khach-thap-phuong-2457873.html