Visiting the record-breaking pagoda with East-West architecture in Tien Giang

Construction began in 1849, the ancient Vinh Trang pagoda has long been a spiritual tourist destination not to be missed by visitors from all over the world whenever they have the opportunity to visit Tien Giang.

The temple grounds have three large Buddha statues: standing Buddha, sitting Buddha and lying Buddha in the temple grounds, looking very solemn and peaceful.

East-West architectural fusion

Located on the main road Nguyen Trung Truc in My Tho city, Tien Giang province, Vinh Trang pagoda is famous throughout the South for its extremely unique architecture. The harmony and combination of traditional East Asian features and Western architectural styles have brought a very unique beauty to this ancient temple.

Vinh Trang Pagoda was built according to the Chinese character Quoc with four consecutive rooms, namely the Front Hall, the Main Hall, the Ancestor House and the Rear House. The building was built with cement and precious wood, with a high foundation and surrounding walls on an area of ​​14,000 ^m2 .

If you just stand outside, you will see Vinh Trang Pagoda wearing the appearance of a European architectural building. The rows of columns, French ironwork, reliefs of the Eight Immortals riding animals, Renaissance-style carvings or Roman-style arches... mixed with decorative details bearing the strong influence of Khmer, Chinese, Cham architecture...

The three-entrance gate is decorated with mosaics of ceramic and porcelain, depicting many pictures illustrating Buddhist legends, folk tales, or describing the four sacred animals, four seasons, flowers, leaves, clouds, etc.

With the main hall shaped like a stupa, two wings with peaks, seen from above the temple appears like 5 towers, reminiscent of the Angkor Wat architecture of Cambodia.

When entering the main hall, the architectural style of the Southern Vietnamese traditional house is retained with many ancient features, especially the ancestral altar of Vinh Trang Pagoda. The entire main hall is built with a traditional wooden frame system, roofed with yin-yang tiles and a sculptural style imbued with Vietnamese tradition.

Along with the common characteristics of Southern pagodas, Vinh Trang Pagoda also aims at a sacred spiritual space. This is clearly shown in the elaborate lam structure, including 7 main lams and auxiliary lams. Typically, the lam of the Eight Immortals riding beasts is placed in the middle of Dai Hung Bao Dien, surrounded by horizontal lacquered boards, parallel sentences, and beautifully carved wooden statues.

Attracting tourists from all over the world

Besides its unique architecture, Vinh Trang Pagoda is also one of the places that attracts many pilgrims to worship and celebrate. The ancient temple currently preserves more than 60 precious Buddha statues made from many different materials such as wood, bronze or terracotta. All are gilded, creating a magical, majestic and imposing look for the statues. Most notably, there is a set of 18 Arhat statues carved from jackfruit wood in the early 20th century placed on both sides of the main hall wall.

With an area of ​​20,000 ^m2 , Vinh Trang Pagoda is also famous for its three large outdoor statues, including a 24 m high Amitabha Buddha statue standing in front of the pagoda. A 20 m high Maitreya Buddha statue is placed on the side of the pagoda and a 32 m long statue of Sakyamuni Buddha in the nirvana posture. In addition, there is also a statue of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara in the pagoda grounds and many majestic statues of Buddhas in the main hall.

The majestic ancestral altar with elaborately and delicately carved panels and columns.

Vinh Trang Pagoda is located in My Tho City, Tien Giang Province, about 70 km from Ho Chi Minh City. Visitors can drive from Ho Chi Minh City along National Highway 1A (QL1A) towards the West, then continue straight on National Highway 50 (QL50) until reaching Vinh Trang Pagoda. It only takes about 1.5 - 2 hours to reach the pagoda.

The ancient Vinh Trang pagoda was recognized as a national historical and cultural relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) in 1984. It was also recognized by the Vietnam Book of Records Center as the "First pagoda in Vietnam with an architectural style combining the East and the West" in 2007.

Combining Eastern and Western architecture with slender round columns, curved arches...

With thousands of visitors coming to visit every day, Vinh Trang Pagoda affirms its position as an important spiritual tourist destination not only in Tien Giang but also in the whole Southern region. The harmonious combination of unique architecture and spiritual space in Vinh Trang Pagoda brings visitors a wonderful experience and contributes to enriching the cultural heritage of this land.

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