Tùng Vân Pagoda

Tùng Vân Pagoda is located in the northern area of Thổ Tang commune, Phú Thọ province. It is an ancient pagoda built during the reign of King Lê Hy Tông in the 7th year of the Chính Hoà era (1686) and was recognised as a national cultural heritage site in 1992. The pagoda has undergone several restorations, with the most recent one in 2008.

The pagoda is laid out in the shape of the character "Quốc" (國), with various components: Tam quan (three-entrance gate), tiền đường (front hall), thiêu hương (incense burning hall), thượng điện (main sanctuary), nhà tổ (ancestral hall), corridors, and nhà mẫu (Mother Goddess house). The pagoda consists of 7 bays and 2 wings, with a structural system of hundreds of wooden and stone pillars. This is a chuôi vồ (mallet-shaped) architectural style, with 3 bays in the rear sanctuary and 7 bays in the front hall; it is one of the typical Buddhist architectural forms of the Northern Delta region.

Tùng Vân Pagoda was originally built with an arched entrance, with water channels running down both sides of the roof resembling a skylight; in the past, the monks used this water for daily activities, but during the Vietnam War, this feature was lost. Today, the pagoda has been restored in the tứ trụ (four-pillar) style; unlike the mossy appearance of the old pagoda, the current Tùng Vân Pagoda has a more beautiful architectural style with many more intricate patterns and decorations. The pagoda roof is covered with mũ hài tiles, with all four corners curving upwards; on the roof ridge is a hand emerging from a lotus flower supporting the Dharma wheel of the Buddha.

The Tam quan gate is built in the ancient style, with a Dharma wheel on the top, a swastika symbol in the centre, and at the ends of the curved roof corners are sacred animals associated with the sky such as: Dragon, Phoenix, and Clouds.

Passing through the Tam quan gate, the pagoda courtyard features the Quan Âm pavilion located in the left corner. Around the courtyard are many tall areca palm trees, creating a sense of closeness to the daily life of the local people for both Buddhists and visitors.

Ascending five steps from the courtyard to the front hall is the main area of the pagoda, with a large screen wall in front of the entrance to ward off evil from entering the pagoda. One of the unique features of Tùng Vân Pagoda is the row of stone pillars right in front of the front hall. Each stone pillar is carved with motifs of the Four Sacred Animals: Dragon, Kỳ Lân (Qilin), Turtle, Phoenix, and the Four Seasons: Pine, Chrysanthemum, Bamboo, Apricot, symbolising the flourishing of the four seasons. Another special feature is that all the wood in the pagoda is ironwood (gỗ lim).

Connecting the steps and the main sanctuary is a set of intricately carved ironwood doors, with balustrades above and stylised reliefs of the Four Seasons below.

Following the main axis into the front hall, on the right side of the entrance is the statue of Ông Khuyến Thiện (the Exhorter to Goodness), wearing a golden helmet and holding a great sword, but with a gentle face, symbolising the encouragement to do good deeds (right mind). On the left side is the statue of Ông Trừng Ác (the Punisher of Evil), also in armour, but with a fierce face, holding a hammer in one hand and a jade seal in the other, symbolising the warning that those who do evil will be punished (deluded mind). The ancestral hall preserves many valuable terracotta statues (including a terracotta statue of Shakyamuni Buddha dating back nearly 300 years), arranged in the style of the Mahayana - Northern School of Buddhism. In addition, the pagoda still preserves many precious artefacts such as bronze bells and bronze gongs. In the rear sanctuary there is an altar to Confucius, showing the area's long-standing tradition of valuing learning. At this altar, there are also two delicately carved female attendants on either side of the door, demonstrating the skill of ancient sculptors. Furthermore, Tùng Vân Pagoda preserves a system of ancient stele, which are valuable documents for historical and cultural research.

Tùng Vân Pagoda is famous for its statue of Shakyamuni Buddha placed in the front hall. The statue is carved from a block of green jade weighing over 10 tonnes, 3.3m high, 2.1m wide, and 1.2m thick; this is the largest and rarest jade block found in Vietnam. The statue was completed on the occasion of the nation's celebration of the 1,000th anniversary of Thăng Long. The statue has a lustrous, cool green colour, very close to the daily aspirations of the Vietnamese people – always striving for peace! After carving the Shakyamuni Buddha statue, the remaining green jade block was used by artisans to carve a statue of the Bodhisattva Quan Âm, weighing about 5 tonnes. The Quan Âm statue is also exquisitely carved, embodying the artisans' skill and devotion, allowing Buddhists to feel its "spirit" during worship. This place also displays statues such as the Three Buddhas of the Past, Present, and Future, the Infant Buddha, and a painting of Xuanzang's pilgrimage to fetch the scriptures. On 16 September 2011, this statue was recognised by the Vietnam Records Book as "The largest green jade semi-precious stone Buddha statue in Vietnam".

= Photo collection of the pagoda =