Hưng Ký Pagoda

Hưng Ký Pagoda is also known as Vũ Hưng Tự and bears the title Võ Hưng Truyền Am. The pagoda is located in Hoàng Mai village, Đoài hamlet, now Hưng Ký alley, Minh Khai street, Hai Bà Trưng district, Hà Nội.

Hưng Ký Pagoda is a unique architectural and artistic work from the end of the Nguyễn dynasty. Situated on a 3,000m² site, the pagoda was not built from ordinary wood, bricks, or tiles, but is made from one-of-a-kind ceramics and porcelain. The pagoda was listed for preservation by the Ministry of Culture and Information in 1992.

The pagoda was built by Mr. Trần Văn Thành (also known as Hưng Ký), a patriotic industrialist specialising in brick production and a devotee of Buddhism, in the eighth year of Bảo Đại, 1932.

The architectural works of the pagoda include the tam quan (triple gate), tam bảo (main hall), Buddha hall, and ancestral house, all arranged harmoniously and adorned with ceramic and porcelain reliefs, intricately carved with patterns that, after nearly 80 years, still retain the lustre of their glaze.

The tam quan gate impresses visitors with its grand stature, built in the style of a two-storey bell tower. Four bronze pillars are topped with carvings of phoenixes, lanterns, and the four sacred animals. The main gate, consisting of four pillars connected to the tam quan, creates a majestic and solid appearance. The outer faces of the side gates are decorated with bas-reliefs of elephants and horses, and the eight corners of the roof are carved with dragons facing the moon. All sides of the pillars bear couplets in Han and Nôm characters, made from coloured glazed porcelain, resembling an ink wash painting.

The tam bảo hall is built with walls and divided into seven bays with twelve main columns, each 7 metres high and 30 cm square. The pagoda roof is covered with tubular tiles, the ends bearing the character "Thọ" (Longevity). On the roof ridge, a vessel containing amrita (the nectar used by Buddhists to save sentient beings) is placed in the centre...

The two end bays of the tam bảo also house two Halls of the Ten Kings of Hell, constructed in the style of caves, realistically depicting scenes of life on earth and in the underworld.

The pagoda worships the Buddha and Mother Liễu Hạnh. The Buddha statues at Hưng Ký Pagoda are not numerous, but each one is larger and more imposing than those in other pagodas. In the centre of the Buddha hall stands a statue of Amitābha Buddha (Phật A Di Đà) 3.86 metres high. Including the brick pedestal, which is 1.3 metres high, the total height is 5.19 metres.

In front of the Buddha hall is the tam bảo, where statues of Avalokiteśvara (Quan Âm) and Mahāsthāmaprāpta (Đại Thế Chí Bồ Tát) (the Amitābha Trinity) are placed. These two statues are carved from wood, each 3.3 metres high, standing on lotus thrones set on brick pedestals 0.56 metres high.

The pagoda is currently preserving a skeleton of a Hồ Gươm turtle that was killed, with a large wound on its shell.

Bhikkhuni Thích Từ Ân (currently)