Explore Bai Dinh Pagoda – a sacred and unique space
Since ancient times, Buddhism was introduced and developed strongly in the territory of Vietnam. Therefore, it is not too surprising that our country possesses so many unique and sacred Buddhist architectural works. Whether we are Buddhists or not, each of us has at least once come and experienced the space in a temple, right?

Some details about the history and scale of Bai Dinh pagoda
Brief history of Bai Dinh Pagoda
More than 1,000 years ago, the three feudal dynasties of Dinh, Early Le and Ly were all very interested and considered Buddhism as the national religion, so they built many ancient pagodas, including Bai Dinh pagoda located on the Trang mountain range An. The pagoda has a history dating back to the Dinh Dynasty but still has many architectural details and antiques bearing the strong impression of the Ly dynasty.

The pagoda is located on a land that fully converges the spiritual elements of outstanding people according to Vietnamese folk beliefs. This is the land where Kings, Saints, and Gods are born. Bai Dinh ancient pagoda mountain was once the place where Emperor Dinh Tien set up an altar to pray for good weather and wind. King Quang Trung chose to hold a flag offering ceremony to encourage soldiers before going to Thang Long to destroy the Qing army.
By 1997, Bai Dinh Pagoda was recognized as a national historical-cultural-revolutionary relic. With such special and sacred things, the pagoda welcomes a large number of tourists and Buddhists every year. If you have the opportunity, come and feel this land of masterpieces.
Places to visit around Bai Dinh Pagoda
Coming to Bai Dinh Pagoda, you can prioritize visiting some outstanding spots with many mysterious legends.
Bright cave, dark cave
Passing 300 stone steps up to the three-entrance gate, before turning into the gate, quickly look to the side of the slope, there is a junction leading to the light cave and the dark cave. Bright Cave is a place to worship Gods and Buddha. As the name suggests, the cave has enough natural light. Right outside the door are statues of two majestic gods with fierce faces. Deep inside is a place to worship Buddha. The cave is about 25 m deep, 15 m wide, more than 2 m high. Going to the end of the cave, you will come to the sacred Cao Son temple.

The dark side of the cave is arranged with a lighting system to create a rather magical scene, above the stalactite formations formed along the underground water circuit. The steps of the walkway are vividly decorated with winding dragon images. In the middle there is a natural water well with air conditioning, making visitors feel cool when entering the cave. Here, statues of mothers and fairies are placed. Many statues are placed deep in rock niches and have their own worship objects.
Temple of Saint Nguyen
Also from the intersection at the top of the slope (heading up to the three-entrance gate), enter to worship Saint Nguyen. The temple is an architectural item belonging to the Bai Dinh pagoda complex, built in a mountain-like position overlooking the river. In the temple, there is a statue worshiping Zen master Nguyen Minh Khong. Once when he went up the mountain to find medicine to cure the king’s illness, he accidentally discovered a beautiful cave that was so suitable that he built a pagoda to worship Buddha. He is not only a famous celebrity who dispenses medicine to help people, but he is also revered as the founder of bronze casting. For a long time, he worked hard to research and understand the origins of Dong Son civilization in ancient Vietnamese times, collecting ancient bronze objects with the aim of restoring the lost traditional craft of bronze casting.

Jade well
Here, legend has it that Zen Master Nguyen Minh Khong took water and decocted medicine to treat the king and people. Surrounding the stone railings form a large circle, standing from the main hall, looking down at the Ngoc well, which stands out among the large campus covered with green trees, the jade green water color is the highlight of the overall Bai Dinh pagoda. This is also the temple well with the largest record in Vietnam.

Visit the largest bronze bell in Vietnam
The new Bai Dinh Pagoda is also famous for many large-scale construction projects in Southeast Asia. The largest bronze bell in Vietnam has a height of 5.5 m, a diameter of 3.5 m and a weight of up to 36 tons. The bronze bell is carved with many ancient characters in Chinese characters and decorated with extremely vivid embossed dragon images.

It is an ancient architectural work with a particularly important spiritual meaning, and with what Bai Dinh Pagoda has achieved, it can be seen that this is a place that all of us should visit at least once in our lives. And whether you are a Buddhist or a tourist, far or near, you will have favorable conditions to visit