Giong Soc Son Temple is not only a sacred temple bearing an imprint of history and impressive architecture, but also a familiar check-in address for Hanoi youth every weekend.
The temples in the North are always a favorite destination not only because of cultural, historical, and spiritual values, but also because of the beauty of architecture and unique landscapes. Soc Son Giong Temple in Hanoi is one of such places, this temple is associated with the legend of Thanh Giong, who was instrumental in defending the An enemy and defending the land in the Vietnamese culture and beliefs. Saints represent the indomitable and resilient spirit of the nation. Having the opportunity to return to Giong Temple, you will admire the impressive beauty of a traditional architectural work and discover the ancient cultural and spiritual beauty of the Vietnamese people.
Giong Temple is an attractive weekend destination in Hanoi. Photo: @ duc.dddd
What is so attractive about Giong Temple in Soc Son?
Giong Temple is located at the foot of Soc mountain in Ve Linh commune, Soc Son district, Hanoi . This place is a complex of historical, cultural and spiritual relics including many unique architectural works including Trinh temple, Thuong temple, Mau temple, Non-Nuoc pagoda, Dai Bi pagoda, Chong stone, beerhouse and floating house. The most famous is the bronze statue of Thanh Giong. This relic population has been officially recognized as a national-level historical monument.
Giong Soc Son temple complex is located at the foot of Soc mountain, Ve Linh commune, Soc Son district. Photo: vivu.net
From the entrance, you will immediately see Trinh Temple, which is the place to worship Son Than, the temple has a statue of Son Than which is cast entirely in bronze with a very majestic manner. Outside the temple are the ancient polygraph roots and lakes creating a very peaceful scene. 
Trinh Temple is beautiful and peaceful like a picture. Photo: @rodri_aranda
Leaving Trinh Temple, you will reach Dai Bi pagoda, a temple with an impressive ancient architecture with a large, gold-plated anti-painting sentence. On the opposite side of Dai Bi pagoda is Mau Temple, the place of worshiping the mother of Thanh Giong, the space here is also very peaceful and gentle, at this temple there is an ancient well called Mau well.
Dai Binh Pagoda is located under the green tree floors. Photo: Vntrip
The Mother Temple is dedicated to the mother of May Giong. Photo: @vutovan
From the Mau Temple area, you move upwards to Thuong Temple, the most famous and spacious temple in the complex of 4 temples at Giong Soc Son Temple . This is the place to worship the Holy Giong with the typical architecture of the ancient Vietnamese temples. Inside the temple, there are Dai Bai and Hau harem houses, Dai Bai’s house is decorated with matching sentences, cranes, parasols … The harem has a statue of Thanh Giong made from precious incense wood.
Thuong Temple features a traditional northern temple / pagoda setting. Photo: @rodri_aranda
The architecture of Thuong Temple is very beautiful and impressive. Photo: @rodri_aranda
The beer house is also a prominent place in the Giong Soc Son temple complex , this place is built entirely of slate and is the place to place stone steles that are hundreds of years old.
The beer house is built of monolith. Photo: dulich24h
The most prominent in Soc Son Giong Temple is the bronze statue of Thanh Giong, located on top of Da Chong mountain. The statue is completely crafted from pure copper with a height of 11.7m and weighing up to 85 tons. To reach this statue area, you need to move up the stairs from the foot of the mountain or rent a car to move.
The bronze statue of St. Giong. Photo: @quyendowtothesoul
The last place you can visit is Non Nuoc Pagoda, this place is very beautiful with a quiet space and close to nature. Here, there is a bronze statue of Buddha Tathagata 8 meters tall, weighing 30 tons, which stands out.
Non Nuoc Pagoda is located in a very beautiful location. Photo: Vntrip
The temple is located at an altitude of 110m. Photo: @khongphuongmai
Giong Soc Son Temple Festival
Visiting Giong Temple from 6th to 8th of January of lunar calendar every year, you will have the opportunity to participate in Giong Temple festival with many special activities. This is an annual festival held annually to commemorate the merit of Thanh Giong. Hoi Giong attracts a lot of tourists and local people to visit because in this festival, people will organize a lot of rituals and cultural activities, with bold identity.
Soc Son Giong Temple Festival attracts many tourists from all over the world. Photo: FB Temple of Soc
The festive part of the festival will include products, the General’s palanquin, the Huc bridge, the war elephant, the elephant grass, the betel palm tree, the procession of flower scent, and the bamboo flower rolls. Attractive folk games such as swing competition, mandarin singing, chess, volleyball tournament, duck catching, clay pot smashing, mixed singing and dancing; Traditional martial arts performances were also actively organized. With its unique cultural features and special spiritual significance, Giong Festival also enjoys being recognized by UNESCO as “the intangible cultural heritage of mankind”.
Folk cultural activities are very special. Photo: FB Temple of Soc
Experience of moving to Giong temple in Soc Son
Giong Temple is located on the outskirts of Hanoi, so moving here is quite easy, but if you are just going for the first time, you can refer to the travel experience below to avoid wasting time. From other provinces, if you want to go to Giong Soc Son, you can travel by many vehicles. If you are in remote provinces you can fly to Hanoi and then choose the appropriate means to go to Giong Temple such as bus, car, motorbike.
The road to Giong Soc Son temple is very convenient. Photo: @ thanh18.01
With the bus, go to the bus interchange in Long Bien and then take bus 15 to reach the Complex of Soc Son Temple. From the junction area to the temple you can walk or take a motorbike taxi for another 3km to arrive. If you ride a motorbike or self-driving car, from Hanoi you only need to follow Highway 3 about 20km from Co Loa, there will be a sign to the temple on the left hand side.
In addition to the travel experience, you should also note that when the temple area is located at the foot of the mountain and to visit all you need to move a lot, so choose light clothing, wear sports shoes to feel very comfortable. Prepare an umbrella, hat and sunscreen to use in your temple adventure.
Giong Temple in Soc Son has an impressive ancient beauty and a bold imprint of a glorious period of national history. Therefore, if you have the opportunity to visit to enjoy the unique features of this spiritual architecture.
Photo: Internet