Famous Pagodas In Kinh Bac And Traditional Culture

By Author: Careca Mongolana
Total Articles: 15

The first days of the year, the cold weather coupled with drizzle cannot hamper visitors across the country to visit Bac Ninh - Kinh Bac, the land not only famous for Quan Ho folk song and Dong Ho painting but also gathers a lot of unique historical relics such as Kinh Duong Vuong tomb, But Thap pagoda, Dau Pagoda (Thuan Thanh district), Phat Tich pagoda (Tien Du district) Do temple (Tu Son town)... Therefore, Bac Ninh is the destination of many visitors on pilgrimage to the original source.

The first stop in the journey of tourists is Thuan Thanh District with Kinh Duong Vuong complex ( A Lu hamlet, Dai Dong Thanh ward) away from Bac Ninh city about 20km to the south. According to legend and historical bibliography, Kinh Duong Vuong is the Great Father of Vietnamese, father of Lac Long Quan.

Kinh Duong Vuong temple covers an area of over 2000m including 3 worship built in Cong letter of old Vietnamese writing, the middle chamber is dedicated to King Duong Vuong, on the left if mother Au Co and on the right is Lac Long Quan, there are tools made of bronze, ceramics and wood such as bronze tray, incense burner, gong...Located on 4.200m on the south bank of Duong river, King Duong Vuong tomb has an architecture of 2 storeys and 8 roofs, surrounded by shady trees. Through the ups and downs of history, so far, the temple still preserves many tangible and intangible heritages such as tree spirit, stone steles, beliefs, festivals...

Leaving A Lu hamlet, down the Duong river dike, visitors continue to But Thap pagoda (But Thap village, Dinh To commune). The pagoda is named "Ninh Phuc Monastery" built during the post - Le dynasty (17th century). In the upper temple there are Tam The, Tam Than statues, most notably Quan The Am Bo Tat statue, 3.7 m high with 42 big hands and 958 small hands, each hand has an eye on its palm. From upper temple through the stone bridge with 3 curved spans, visitors will see wooden Cuu Pham Lien Hoa built in 9 storeys, carved with Bhudda statues on it's sides. In addition, there are more than 70 wooden Buddhist statues like Kim Dong - Ngoc Nu, Arhat statues...many ancient towers such as Bao Nghiem tower, Ton Duc... is where relics of the Zen Buddhist Monk are placed.

After visiting But Thap pagoda, visitors continues to Dau pagoda. Originally built in the early 3rd century, Dau Pagoda is rated as one of the famous old pagodas in the Kinh Bac land, where the interaction of two major streams of Buddhist culture, India and China. Dau pagoda worships Phap Van Goddess. The pagoda was built with four rows of chambers surrounding the main house, in the yard of the pagoda lays Hoa Phong tower, about 17.3 m in height, inside is a bell tower built in Canh Thinh King

The next destination is Dong Ho painting village, also known as the Mai village (Song Ho commune). Dong Ho, a pretty village on the bank of the Duong River, has long been on the spiritual life of every Vietnamese citizen by the famous folk paintings imbued with national identity. People from Hanoi and other cities come and buy the paintings, many tourists who love folk art come and study characteristics of Dong Ho village.

End the tour at Thuan Thanh district, visitors can go for sightseeing Tien Du district pagoda (Phoenix Village, Phat Tich Commune) was built in the Ly Dynasty in the 10th century. Origin of the pagoda is attached to the Luy Lau Buddhism center and the introduction of Buddhism in India. This is where there are 5 pairs of objects beasts (lion, elephant, buffalo, horses and rhinoceroses) Vietnam's largest stone statues placed on lotus pedestal in front of the temple. In the upper level of the temple has statues of Amitabha Buddha meditating on a lotus throne 1.85 m high (including the pedestal is 2.8 m) - a masterpiece of sculpture in Ly court. In addition, there are 32 towers in the backyard of the temple, belong to Buddhist monks have died from the 17th century to the 20th century.

Going to Tien Du district on 12 and 13 January every lunar year, visitors will have the opportunity to participate in the Lim fold song festival, this is a major festival in Bac Ninh, the definition is regarded as the cultural uniqueness of Kinh Bac region. Festival attracts many people from all over the country, most of them young men and women, they come to sing with local folk artists, especially since they Bac Ninh's Quan Ho folk music was recognized by Unesco as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2009 , the festival has become increasingly busy and attract more foreign visitors. Although not a hot destination in the map of Vietnam vacation, Bac Ninh still attracts tourists through folk art festivals and beautiful temples.