Since ancient times, Buddhism has been introduced and developed strongly in Vietnam. Therefore, it is not surprising that the country possesses many unique and sacred Buddhist architectural works. Whether you are a Buddhist or not, each of us has at least once visited and experienced the space in a pagoda, right?
Among the diversity of temple buildings today, the ancient Bai Dinh pagoda complex still retains its own unique features and has the honor of setting many records. So, if you have the opportunity to come to Ninh Binh or are someone who needs peace of mind, you can visit the ancient pagoda!
Table of Contents
General information about Bai Dinh pagoda
The Bai Dinh pagoda consists of the original old temple and a newly created larger temple. It is considered the largest complex of Buddhist temples in Vietnam and has become a popular site not for Buddhist pilgrimages but also for tourist who want to come and admire the beauty, the unique of the pagoda.
More than 1000 years ago, the three feudal dynasties of Dinh, Tien Le and Ly were very interested in and considered Buddhism as the national religion, so they built many ancient pagodas and temples, including old Bai Dinh temple located on Trang An mountain range. The old temple itself is located in a series of small caves on the mountainside. Along with Buddhist deities, natural spirits of the mountains are also venerated.
The name Bai Dinh Pagoda means facing Dinh Mountain, where heroic events in Vietnamese history took place. Bai Dinh Pagoda Mountain is where Emperor Dinh Tien Hoang set up an altar to pray for favorable weather and wind. Later, Emperor Quang Trung continued to choose it to hold a flag-raising ceremony to encourage his soldiers before going to Thang Long to defeat the Qing army.
The new Bai Dinh pagoda is a large complex which includes many structures built over several phases starting in 2003 and finally completed in 2010. The architecture of the new pagoda stands out with large, majestic shapes bearing the mark of Vietnamese architecture such as the use of local main materials (Ninh Binh green stone, Tu Thiet wood), dark brown Bat Trang glazed tiles… The most distinctive feature of Bai Dinh pagoda’s architecture is the dark brown curved roof shaped like a phoenix’s tail. The architectural details of the pagoda also bear the mark of famous traditional craft villages in Vietnam.
Not only a place for religious activities, Bai Dinh pagoda has gradually become a famous spiritual and ecological tourist destination. The temple has received many Vietnamese and Asian records such as:
- The largest gold-plated bronze Buddha statue in Asia: 100-ton bronze statue in the Phap Chu Palace.
- The largest bronze Maitreya Buddha statue in Southeast Asia: 100-ton Maitreya Buddha statue outdoors.
- The largest bronze bell in Vietnam: The 36-ton Great Bell.
- The tallest stupa in Asia: The stupa of Bai Dinh Pagoda (Ninh Binh) has 13 floors and is 100m high.
- The largest pagoda area in Vietnam: a total of 539 hectares.
- The pagoda area has the longest Arhat corridor in Asia: the Arhat corridor is nearly 3 km long.
- The pagoda area has the most Arhat statues in Vietnam: 500 green stone statues about 2m high.
- The pagoda area has the largest jade well in Vietnam.
- The pagoda area has the largest number of Bodhi trees in Vietnam: 100 Bodhi trees were grafted from Indian Bodhi trees.
Fees to visit the temple
If you have the opportunity to burn incense, pray and participate in religious activities, remember not to miss the activity of visiting Bai Dinh Pagoda. Because the pagoda campus is very large and connected to Trang An scenic spot, you can combine additional tours and use related services with the following costs:
- Electric car rental: 30,000 VND/way.
- Explore Trang An scenic spot: boat ticket price is 150,000 VND/person.
- Electric car ticket: 60,000 VND/person
- Ticket to visit tower: 50,000 VND/person
- Tour guide ticket price: 300,000 VND/tour
Places not to be missed when visiting Bai Dinh Pagoda
Explore Bright cave, dark cave
To visit the cave in Bai Dinh mountain, you have to climb over 300 stone steps, through the three-door gate halfway up the mountain. At the top of the slope is a three-way intersection: on the right is the bright cave worshiping Buddha, along with Buddhist deities; on the left is the dark cave worshiping Mother Goddess and deities.
The cave is 25m long, 15m wide, and 2m high on average, with a flat floor and ceiling. Continuing along the stone niche on the left at the end of the cave will lead to a bright and wide cave entrance, a green valley appears. If you continue down the stone steps, you will reach the Cao Son temple. Return to the fork at the top of the slope, turn left about 50m to reach Dark Cave. Dark Cave is larger than Bright Cave, consisting of 7 chambers, some caves are high up, some caves are deep down, all caves are connected through many rocky niches. In the Dark Cave, there is a jade well formed by cold water falling from the cave ceiling. The deities are worshiped in many niches in the cave.
Saint Nguyen Temple
Zen master Nguyen Minh Khong is the founder of Bai Dinh Pagoda. He was appointed National Master by the King and revered by the people as Saint Nguyen. Dinh Mountain area is located 4 km from Saint Nguyen Minh Khong’s hometown.
Legend has it that when he came here to find medicinal plants to cure disease for Emperor Ly Than Tong, he discovered beautiful caves and immediately built a pagoda to worship Buddha and created a precious medicinal garden to cure people’s diseases. Saint Nguyen Temple is located right at the intersection at the top of the slope, built with his back against the mountain, in the temple there is a bronze statue of him.
Cao Son Temple
After the bright cave, there is a path leading down to the valley slope of the forest, which is the temple to worship Cao Son, the god who governs the Vu Lam mountain range.
Cao Son Temple is built with its back against the mountain, with a corridor separating it from the valley in front. In the past, when building the capital Hoa Lu, Emperor Dinh Tien Hoang ordered the construction of 3 temples to worship the gods guarding the 3 citadels and Cao Son guarding the gateway to the western citadel.
Jade Well
The jade well of the ancient Bai Dinh pagoda is located near the foot of Bai Dinh mountain. Legend has it that this is where Zen master Nguyen Minh Khong took water to make medicine to cure the people and King Ly Than Tong. The well was rebuilt in the shape of a crescent moon, very wide, with a diameter of 30 m, the water depth is 6 m, and the water never runs out.
The well is built with a stone railing. The land around the well is square, with an area of 6,000 m², with 4 octagonal floors at the 4 corners. The Vietnam Record Book Center has issued a “Record Confirmation” certificate: “Bai Dinh Pagoda is the pagoda with the largest well in Vietnam” on December 12, 2007.
Arhat Corridor
One of the places you must visit when traveling to Bai Dinh Pagoda is Arhat Corridor. This corridor consists of 234 compartments connecting the two ends of Tam Quan together, along the corridor are 500 statues of Arhat made from monolithic green stone weighing about 4 tons.
With a length of up to 1052m, Arhat Corridor is recognized in the record of the longest Arhat corridor in Asia. Each statue of Arhat here is designed with many different appearances and expressions to describe life on earth.
Maitreya Buddha Statue
When mentioning Bai Dinh, one cannot miss the Maitreya Buddha statue – the largest statue in Vietnam, weighing about 80 tons and 10m high.
The Maitreya Buddha statue is located on a large hill, standing here, visitors have the opportunity to admire the panoramic view of the beauty of Bai Dinh Pagoda below.
Buddha Relic Tower
Through the La Han corridor to the west of Tam The Palace of Bai Dinh Pagoda is the Bao Thap – Buddha Relic Tower with 13 floors, up to 100m high and 72 climbing steps. In addition to being the tallest Buddha Relic Tower in Southeast Asia, this great work is also a repository of Buddha Relics from India and Myanmar.
In addition to the famous attractions above, Bai Dinh Pagoda also has many outstanding destinations such as: Tam Quan Noi, Tam Quan Ngoai, Buddha Temple, lake for releasing animals, Bodhi Garden, stele house, etc.
The main halls in Bai Dinh Pagoda
Are places to worship the sacred Buddhas and Bodhisattva. In particular, Quan Am hall consisting of 7 compartments, in which the middle compartment is where the statue of Bodhisattva with a thousand hands and a thousand eyes saves all living beings is placed. Bodhisattva hall attracts visitors with its massive architecture and decorative art of Buddhist motifs such as lotus flowers, bronze cranes, etc.
Phap Chu hall has 5 compartments, the middle compartment worships the bronze Buddha, 10m high and weighing 100 tons. The hall also preserves 3 horizontal lacquered boards and 3 largest arched doors in Vietnam.
As an ancient architectural work with special spiritual significance, Bai Dinh Pagoda definitely a tourist destination that you should not miss, whether Buddhist or visitor, when you have a chance come to explore Ninh Binh.
Source: collected by An
Follow us for the best deal with Vietnam package tours and visa services!
