90-year-old Tran Hung Dao Temple in Saigon

Tran Hung Dao Temple Tran Hung Dao Temple, District 1, was built in 1932 and is one of the city's sacred places of worship. Tran Hung Dao Temple was built in a large area of the old Van An Pagoda. In 1957, the temple was built on a larger scale and was later renovated many times. The entrance to the temple on Vo Thi Sau Street (District 1) includes the main gate in the middle and two side gates on both sides. The main gate is designed with a curved tiled roof, decorated with dragons and phoenixes. On the front of the gate, there are four large Chinese characters, transcribed as: "Hung Dao Dai Vuong".

In the middle of the large yard behind the gate, there is an incense burner and a statue of Tran Hung Dao. When entering the temple, people often worship Saint Tran before entering the shrine. The statue of the famous general of the Tran Dynasty is nearly 2 meters high, cast in 1972 from cement and steel. A corner of the yard quotes a passage from the Proclamation of Generals and Soldiers by Tran Hung Dao written at the end of the 13th century before the second resistance war against the Mongol invaders of Dai Viet army and people.

The temple is built at the end of the yard, with a "T" shape, a 5-room house made of wood and reinforced concrete. The roof is covered with fish-scale tiles, and on the top is the image of two dragons facing the moon, commonly seen in traditional temple architecture. On both sides of the steps are statues of the Tiger, which is a native mascot of the Vietnamese people. The temple has an area of about 200 square meters, with two areas: the front hall and the back hall. The worship space is beautifully and solemnly decorated with incense tables, parasols, eight precious objects, a pair of cranes, horizontal lacquered boards, etc.

In the temple, there are many works of art gilded with gold such as panels, horizontal lacquered boards, parallel sentences, white horses... On both sides of the front hall are altars to worship talented generals of the Tran Dynasty such as: Tran Quang Khai, Tran Khanh Du, Pham Ngu Lao, Yet Kieu, Da Tuong. On the side of the temple is the "Tran Dynasty History Exhibition" house built in 1929, currently closed for renovation. Every year, the temple organizes major festivals, including the death anniversary (August 20th of the lunar calendar) and the birth anniversary (December 10th) of Tran Hung Dao.

Thank you for choosing iguide.ai to accompany your exciting experience!