Giồng Thành Pagoda

Giồng Thành Pagoda, with the formal name Long Hưng Tự 隆興寺, is located in Tân Châu ward, An Giang province, and is a heritage site recognised and classified as a national-level monument by the Ministry of Culture and Information on 12 December 1986 in Vietnam.

Giồng Thành Pagoda is situated on a spacious plot of land with abundant lush trees, about 300 metres from the Phú Tân - Tân Châu asphalt road and the right bank of the Cái Vừng River (a section of the Tiền River), and only 3 km from Tân Châu town (An Giang province).

Considering the location of Châu Đốc Fortress (constructed under the supervision of Trấn thủ Vĩnh Thanh Lưu Phước Tường in 1815) to be cramped and not convenient for defending the borders, at the beginning of the year Quý Tỵ (1833), Emperor Minh Mạng issued an order to the Governor-General of An Hà, Lê Bá Cương, and the Governor of An Giang, Ngô Bá Nhân (or Nhơn), to select another site for building a citadel.

After choosing the land of Long Sơn (formerly part of Tân Châu Bảo) as an upstream residence, with high and dry terrain, convenient for communication and support, and a truly strategic location, they reported this to the emperor and received approval.

In 1834, Châu Đốc Fortress was demolished. However, for unclear reasons, the emperor changed his decision, ordering the reconstruction at the original site, while the project at Long Sơn was abandoned (the moat was only partially dug and not a single stone or brick was laid).

According to the An Giang Gazetteer, in 1875, on a mound of the unfinished citadel, Venerable Trí Trang (Trần Minh Lý, 1825 - 1899) built a small pagoda from bamboo and leaves, which was called Giồng Thành Pagoda.

By 1927, Venerable Chánh Hườn (1879 - 1947), a native of Long Sơn commune, noticing that the number of devotees was increasing while the pagoda was too old and cramped, sought permission from the French authorities to raise funds for rebuilding the Buddhist temple.

In 1970, Venerable Chơn Như (1925 - 1972) renovated the pagoda in the Indian architectural style. This was the largest renovation and has remained to the present day.

Giồng Thành Pagoda was built in the shape of the character "Song Hỷ" (Double Happiness), consisting of three sections: the main hall, the lecture hall, and the rear ancestral house. The main hall and lecture hall each have three roofs, and the rear ancestral house also has three roofs. The main hall worships Buddha Shakyamuni, Nam Tào, and Bắc Đẩu. The lecture hall worships the Mother Buddha, and the rear ancestral house worships the venerables who served as abbots of the pagoda. The pagoda is roofed with hook tiles, and the main hall pillars are made of ironwood and decorated with dragon motifs. The wind facade of the pagoda is built in the Indian style; at the front, on the roof, there is a two-tiered funnel-shaped stupa, and on the right and left sides of the roof, there are two towers.

In the early 1920s, the secret society Thiên Địa Hội (Heaven and Earth Society, Green and Yellow Factions) of Phan Xích Long chose Giồng Thành Pagoda as a base to gather people to resist the French colonialists, as Venerable Chánh Hườn was a member of the Yellow Faction.

According to the stone stele erected in front of the pagoda, from 1928 to 1929, Phó bảng Nguyễn Sinh Sắc resided at this pagoda to spread the spirit of patriotism among the people.

Additionally, during the periods of resistance against the French and the Americans by the Vietnamese people, Giồng Thành Pagoda was a liaison point for Zone 8, the Central Committee of Southern Vietnam, and served as a base for the Châu Đốc Provincial Party Committee and the Tân Châu District Party Committee...

Quốc sử quán triều Nguyễn, Quốc triều chính biên toát yếu. Văn Học Publishing House, 2002.

Quốc sử quán triều Nguyễn, Đại Nam thực lục (Volume 3, Annals of the Holy Ancestor Nhân hoàng đế). Giáo dục Publishing House, 2007.

Various authors, An Giang Gazetteer (Volume 2). Compiled and published by the People's Committee of An Giang Province, 2007.