Tien Giang is a land bearing the imprint of history and culture in the South. When visiting this masterful land, visitors should not miss an important point is Vinh Trang Pagoda – a temple that has existed for three centuries, located right on Nguyen Trung Truc Street, My Tho City, Tien Giang Province. This is a famous place for pilgrimage and tourism in Tien Giang .
Construction history of Vinh Trang pagoda
Vinh Trang Pagoda is an ancient pagoda, in harmony with East-West architectural style combined extremely unique. The pagoda was built by many people over the years.
An ancient pagoda corner of Vinh Trang
According to historical records, during the reign of King Minh Mang, in the 19th century, Vinh Trang Pagoda was just a small temple built by Mr. and Mrs. Bui Cong Dat. In 1849, monk Thich Hue Dang from Giac Lam Pagoda (Gia Dinh) came here the abbot organized the construction of a pagoda and named it Vinh Truong pagoda with the intention of giving the pagoda the “Eternal rivalry”. everlasting heavenly earth “. Because of that noble meaning, the pagoda is loved by the people in the vicinity as Vinh Trang Pagoda. Through many generations of lineages, Vinh Trang Pagoda is increasingly large and majestic, making a place for people who follow Buddhism or near and far to make pilgrimages.
Unique architecture combining Asian – European style
Vinh Trang is one of the temples with unique architectural style in the southwestern region. With the combination of five architectural styles at the same time, including French, Roman, Thai, Mien and Cham. Vinh Trang pagoda deserves to be the work reflecting the most artistic history in the West of Tien Giang tourist land.
The pagoda has the architecture in the form of the Chinese word, consisting of 4 consecutive rooms (front road, main hall, ancestral house and the back house) wide 14,000m², 70m long, 20m wide, built of cement and precious wood, casting foundation 1m high , around to build a solid wall.
In front of Vinh Trang Pagoda, there are two magnificent and grand-sized three-door martial arts gates, built in 1933 in the style of ancient and storey architecture.
The special feature of this three-door gate is in the art of grafting pieces of crockery to illustrate the history of the Buddha with all the shapes of dragon, unicorn, mandarin, phoenix, fish, tieu, wing, item, … extremely impressive and unique.
The front of the front road feels like getting lost in a foreign temple with its slender columns, curved arches and colorful patterns. Surely this is the first time you admire the unique and fancy architectural tricks such as: the bowl of mounts with animals, Roman arches, French cotton, Japanese ceramic tiles, … Say no Besides, Vinh Trang pagoda is like a miniature architectural museum.
The deeper you go inside the pagoda, the more visitors can feel the Vietnamese beauty reflected in the system of diaphragms, skillfully carved wooden statues. The main hall is decorated solemnly; In front of the main hall there are 2 large wooden columns, meticulously carved with floating dragons.
The core sculptural architecture still carries bold Vietnamese traditions.
The system of Buddha statues – ancient bells – precious paintings in the temple
In the temple also preserves over 60 Buddha statues made of wood, bronze, terracotta and cement; but the majority of statues are wooden, all of which are covered with iridescent gold and were created in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Particularly 3 bronze statues (Di Di, 98 cm high, Quan Am and The Chi are 93 cm high) created in the mid 19th century.
The bronze statues of Guan Yin, Buddha Amitabha, The Chi were built in the years of the 19th century, accompanied by seven sets of bags in the picture of Bat Tien, Moon and Sun, which are invaluable statues of Vinh Trang. self.
Besides the statues, the remaining artifacts in this temple must be mentioned as Dai Hong Chung named Phap Bao Chuong 12 cm high, weighing about 150 kg, cast in mid-May 1854 on it engraved the word “Vinh Truong Tu”. Currently, Phap Bao Chuong is unusable, damaged by lying in the water for a long time after being lost.
In particular, the pagoda still retains the set of the Eighteen Bodhisattvas with many different and very lively shapes, which are unique round statues carved by Southern artisans in the early 20th century.
Statue of Buddha in the temple grounds.
In the temple grounds, there is a statue of Maitreya Buddha in a sitting position in the middle of the park, with a length of 27 meters, a width of 18 meters, a height of 20 meters and a weight of about 250,000 kg made of concrete and steel. Inside the Amitabha Buddha statue, Vinh Trang pagoda is utilizing the working agency design of the Buddhist Tri-Buddhist Board of Tien Giang province, there are lecture halls and accommodation for 200 people.
Statue of Quan Am Buddha in the position of lying in Vinh Trang Pagoda.
Behind the pagoda is Dai Quan Am with a statue of Quan Am Buddha in a lying position. In addition, the pagoda also has many new construction items such as square, lake, lighting system, flower basin, greenery, yard … very elegant, clean and beautiful.
In addition, there are more than 20 very valuable paintings in the pagoda, bearing bold Vietnamese folklore, printed pictures of “apricot, orchid, chrysanthemum, bamboo”, pictures of Vietnamese landscapes which are very poetic. That is the work of Long Giang layman sketched in 1904. It is worth noting that there are many elaborate carved lamas in the pagoda and the panels, the opposite sentences are engraved in braille, gilded, engraved from 1851 is still quite beautiful up to now.
The famous pilgrimage and tourist destination of Tien Giang and the southwestern region
Vinh Trang Pagoda has long been a famous destination for pilgrimage and tourism in Tien Giang . On days like the first, fourteenth, the full moon … the pagoda welcomes many domestic and foreign tourists to go on pilgrimage.
Vinh Trang pagoda with Truc Lam Phuong Nam Zen Monastery (Can Tho), Doi Pagoda (Soc Trang), Siamese Can Pagoda (Bac Lieu), … is one of the largest temples in the West, attracting many tourists. Near and far visitors visit pilgrimage, breathtaking scenery.
Tourists come here not only to see a large ancient temple with unique architecture but also to send their wishes of peace, spread their hearts in a peaceful and tranquil space. Every day, the pagoda welcomes nearly 1000 visitors, including about 300 foreign visitors.
In addition to the title “the biggest temple in Tien Giang”, the temple also has a lot of other interesting things. In 1984, Vinh Trang pagoda – a famous tourist and pilgrimage site of Tien Giang, was ranked a national monument by the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism). On May 31, 2007, the Vietnam Record Book Center set a record on “Vinh Trang Pagoda – the first Vietnamese temple to combine architectural styles between the East and the West”.