1. History of Quan Thanh Temple
According to many documents, this was built by King Ly Thai To – who moved the capital from Hoa Lu - Ninh Binh to Thang Long (now Hanoi) after his wife gave birth to a prince also to celebrate the new establishment.
Through many dynasties and events of the country, the temple also has been restored and changed more or less. However, until today, this temple is still considered one of the sacred temples with historical imprints of Hanoi and one of the most attractions in Hanoi.
Quan Thanh temple in 1896
2. Architecture of Quan Thanh Temple
In the beginning, the temple was built following the Buddhist style with the influences of Confucian and Taoist architecture (under the Ly dynasty, Buddhism was the main religion, besides Confucianism and Taoism).
However, after many years and many restorations in 1618, 1677, 1768, 1836, 1843, especially in 1893, the architecture has many changes. The remaining architectural features today have many features of the architecture from the Nguyen Dynasty.
Right from the arrival gate, you will be impressed by the four pillars decorated very delicately with the image of a phoenix.
Going inside the temple, visitors will see the beauty of wood carving art with different topics such as bats, fish, wine gourds, swords, scenes of life on earth and, etc. Especially, the Huyen Thien Tran Vu statue was built in 1677 by black-bronze, which is currently the second-largest in Vietnam. The statue is measured 3.96 meters in height and nearly 4 tons in weight and holding a sword with a snake and a turtle. In Vietnamese culture, a snake represents strength, and a turtle symbolizes longevity.
Nowadays, every year on March 3rd in the Lunar calendar. Local people will organize festivals with many different rituals and religious activities.
The main gate
3. What to see at Quan Thanh Temple
Quan Thanh Temple is one of the oldest temples in Hanoi and is associated with the spiritual life of many people in the capital. This place still retains many architectural features and works of previous periods with immeasurable cultural value.
From the main gate (Tam Quan) to the main hall to inside the pagoda, visitors can feel the ancient features and reliefs with outstanding and unique traditional images.
4. How to get to Quan Thanh Temple
Located at 190 Quan Thanh street right at West Lake, From Hanoi old quarter is taking only 15 minutes to get there. Visitors can catch a taxi, motorbike taxi, or grab. Visitors can combine to visit famous places in Hanoi, such as Tran Quoc pagoda, Ho Chi Minh complex, Imperial Thang Long citadel.
4.1 Quan Thanh Temple opening hours and entrance fee tickets
Visitors can visit from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. every day
Entrance fee: 10.000vnd/ person
Like other worship areas in Vietnam, visitors should wear formal clothes, not smoke, and bring food and drinks. With all the information above, we hope you will have great tips for visiting Hanoi.
Go Viet Trip hope this article will help you understand more about Hanoi if you need any more help. Please feel free to contact us: Email: Goviettrip@gmail.com or hotline +84968667589. We are guarantee about quality and prices. Get a full refund if you do not feel happy with our services.
Author Hoan Nguyen
He has over 10 years of experience working in the tourism sector and operator. He has traveled to many places in Vietnam and around the world.
Photos: Go Viet Trip & Internet
