Quan Âm Phật Đài (Bạc Liêu)

Quan Âm Phật Đài (also known as Mother Nam Hải) is the name of a pagoda belonging to the Northern School of Vietnamese Buddhism; it is located in Hiệp Thành ward, Cà Mau province, Vietnam. This is a prominent spiritual and cultural site of the province, featuring an 11-metre-high statue of Bodhisattva Quán Thế Âm standing in an open space facing the East Sea.

The pagoda is located about 8 km from Bạc Liêu ward.

Initially, the pagoda was just a simple, spacious house made of wood and leaves, on a small plot of land by the sea with many ponds, mudflats, and mangrove trees such as mắm and đước.

In 1973, Most Venerable Thích Trí Đức presided over the construction of the outdoor Quán Thế Âm statue (11 metres high, not including the pedestal), which was completed in early 1975. When first built, the statue was placed right at the edge of the sea; when the tide rose, seawater would sometimes flood the base. Over many years, due to natural sedimentation, the statue's location is now nearly 1 km from the sea.

In 2004, the Bạc Liêu provincial authorities granted permission to expand and level the land where the pagoda is situated. Thanks to this, several structures have gradually been erected with contributions from devotees and visitors from afar.

As of early 2013, construction was still ongoing over an area of about 3 hectares, and only a number of structures had been completed, such as the Tam quan gate, Thiên Thủ Hall, Địa Tạng Hall, monks' quarters, guest house, etc.

Thiên Thủ Hall enshrines Thiên Thủ Quán Âm (the main deity). This is one of the many titles of Bodhisattva Quán Thế Âm, whose Sanskrit name is Avalokitesvara, also known as Quán Tự Tại. The statue of this Bodhisattva has a thousand arms and a thousand eyes (thiên thủ, thiên nhãn).

Địa Tạng Hall enshrines Địa Tạng Bodhisattva (the main deity). This is a Bodhisattva who specialises in saving sentient beings in Hell. In addition, both of these halls also have other worshipped statues (secondary deities): Quán Thế Âm Bodhisattva, Chuẩn Đề Vương Bodhisattva, Diệm Diêm Vương Bodhisattva, etc.

Every year, the pagoda organises the Quán Âm Nam Hải Festival over three days: the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th days of the 3rd lunar month. This is also one of six distinctive festivals of Bạc Liêu province that have been recognised as official festivals.

In addition, the pagoda also organises other festival days, such as the three Quán Thế Âm commemorative days: the 19th day of the 2nd lunar month (birth), the 19th day of the 6th lunar month (enlightenment), the 19th day of the 9th lunar month (renunciation), the First Full Moon Festival, the Vu Lan Festival, etc. All are attended by large numbers of devotees and visitors from afar.

According to information from the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Bạc Liêu province, the "Nhà Mát – Quan Âm Phật Đài Tourist Area" is being developed with an area of 98.5 hectares. In the not-too-distant future, this place will become a marine eco-tourism area combined with pilgrimage festival tourism, along with a system of hotels, restaurants, and a diverse entertainment and recreation complex.