Unlike Vietnamese traditional pagodas built out of brick and wood, this pagoda is made from reinforced concrete and coated by enamelled ceramic panels, making it distinctively different. |
Though over 80 years old all of the beams, walls, ceilings and altars remain in excellent condition. |
The mosaic of ceramic panels depicts a number of stories about the beauty of nature and people’s daily lives and Buddhism. |
On the pagoda’s roof sits a large ceramic gourd said to contain a type of water used by Buddha to save all living things. |
There are also panels describing various kinds of punishments dished out in hell to sinners. These striking scenes are supposed to urge people to choose good over evil. |
The pagoda was built between 1931 – 1934 by a man called Tran Van Thanh and his wife Vu Thi Sau. |
The pagoda was originally named Vu Hung but locals preferred the name Hung Ky. |
Over the years the pagoda grew in popularity and today it is visited frequently by Buddhists and has been recognised as a cultural site by the municipal authorities. |
