Visit Nam Dinh to visit the 700-year-old brick pagoda, the tallest in Vietnam

Pho Minh Pagoda is located in Tuc Mac village, Loc Vuong ward, Nam Dinh city. It has Pho Minh tower - the largest and most intact unique ancient architectural work in Vietnam.

Pho Minh Pagoda, also known as Pho Minh Tower Pagoda, is an ancient pagoda located in Tuc Mac village, Nam Dinh province, the homeland of the Tran kings.

The temple grounds preserve the Pho Minh tower, a treasure symbolizing the heroic spirit of the Tran Dynasty. The temple was built during the Ly Dynasty and expanded in 1262 under the Tran Dynasty.

Pho Minh Tower is a unique architectural work of the Tran Dynasty that is preserved quite intact, built in 1305.

The tower was built right in front of the worshiping hall along the North-South axis. The tower is 19.51m high in total, including a palanquin and 13 floors. The tower is built on a small square yard, each side is 8.6m and is 0.45m lower than the ground. Each floor has 4 arched doors, between the floors is a cornice...

On top of the tower is a block shaped like an unopened lotus flower made of old baked clay.

The first floor of the tower is placed on a stone pedestal, with two layers of lotus petals, the lower layer facing down, the upper layer facing up, supporting the square tower, each side is more than 5 m wide. The pedestal and the first floor have shallow carvings on the stone surface such as flowers, leaves, water waves, and rolling clouds, typical of the decorative style of the Tran Dynasty. The outside of the bricks of the upper floors are decorated with dragons.

Around the campus of Pho Minh pagoda, there are many trees planted, creating a cool, peaceful space. Ms. Le Thi Ngan ( Quang Ninh ) said: "I know Pho Minh Tower is one of three towers built during the Tran Dynasty that have been preserved until now. I have been to Hue Quang Tower (Yen Tu, Quang Ninh Province) and Binh Son Tower (Lap Thach District, Vinh Phuc Province), but Pho Minh Tower is the tower that impresses me more because of its majestic design, showing the elaborateness of both aesthetics and technique".

Unfortunately, in the early 20th century, the tower was given a new “coat” of cement, which erased the patterns on the bricks. In 2012, Pho Minh Pagoda was ranked as a special national monument by the Prime Minister .

laodong.vn