If you travel to Quang Ninh, there are two places to visit: Ha Long Bay and Yen Tu. If you have visited Yen Tu, please do not miss Hoa Yen Pagoda.
Overview of Hoa Yen Pagoda
The pagoda, named Van Yen, was built during the Ly Dynasty. Van Yen means “hazy clouds”; the pagoda is at an altitude of 600m, so thin white clouds float by, sometimes appear, and then disappear. During the Le Dynasty, when Emperor Thanh Tong visited the pagoda, he saw the beautiful scenery here, with hundreds of flowers blooming and clouds forming flowers hanging in front of the door, so he changed the name to Hoa Yen Pagoda. However, locals usually call it the Ca Pagoda or the Yen Tu Pagoda.
The pagoda was built by monks during the Ly Dynasty; the roof was covered with forest leaves. After practicing and attaining enlightenment, Emperor Tran Nhan Tong regularly held classes to transmit the essential teachings of Zen Buddhism to his disciples, including Phap Loa, Huyen Quang, Bao Sai, Phap Khong, and others.
When Phap Loa became the Second Patriarch, Hoa Yen Pagoda was built with great splendor. The pagoda has a front hall, an upper hall for worshiping Buddha, a drum tower, a bell tower, a guest house, a monk’s house, and a preaching house, forming a large architectural complex.
How to get to the pagoda?
People often go to Yen Tu in spring or summer because the weather is favorable. The higher you go, the thinner the air becomes, and visitors can clearly feel the special climate of the Yen Tu mountains and forests. If you want to go to Hoa Yen Pagoda, you have two ways: hiking or taking the cable car.
Taking the cable car only takes you more than 10 minutes and costs 70,000 VND to travel more than 1,200m to reach the pagoda. This is the first cable car route that takes visitors along the Giai Oan Pagoda – Hoa Yen Pagoda route. Taking the cable car, you will have the pleasure of seeing Yen Tu from above.
If you are hiking along the stone steps, you will be quite tired because it takes more than an hour. However, hiking mountain has its own fun. In the past, whenever Emperor Tran Anh Tong visited his father, Emperor Tran Nhan Tong, he would get off his elephant and walk up.
Walking takes a little time, but you will have the feeling of excitement of a person conquering heights, and you can also freely admire the majestic mountains and forests in front, behind, and under your feet.
Hoa Yen Pagoda Architecture
Hoa Yen Yen Tu Pagoda attracts many tourists with its beautiful scenery and unique architecture. Among them are the main building, 700-year-old trees, the impressive tower garden, and many other works.
Main Pagoda
The ancient Hoa Yen Pagoda was built more than 700 years ago. Over its long existence, the pagoda has been restored and renovated many times. At the end of 2002, the pagoda was restored on a large and spacious scale. Including the front hall, the back hall, the ancestral house, the left and right wings, the bell tower, and the drum tower. The entire pagoda was built of wood, roofed with tiles, and the decorative and sculptural motifs all bear the typical features of the Tran Dynasty.
The front hall consists of three compartments and two wings; the roof is covered with overlapping tiles. The ridge is decorated with asterisk patterns. The two ends of the ridge are dragon heads with wide-open mouths holding them. The eaves are not decorated, only forming edges. Currently, there are 35 statues in the pagoda, including a statue of Guanyin of Nam Hai dating from the late 19th century; the rest were all newly brought in 2002 when the pagoda was renovated.
The wooden panel door system is undecorated and consists of 18 panels. The two side compartments are a system of window-shaped vents with a bar-style design. The floor is higher than the yard, creating a sacred space separate from the outside.
From the yard to the temple grounds, go through a set of three steps, with two stone dragons on both sides. The entire yard is paved with red bricks and surrounded by a railing system in an open style. In front of the front hall, on the right side of the pagoda, there is a stone stele engraved with the image of three Zen masters; on both sides are two stone crocodiles dating from the Tran Dynasty.
In addition, outside the yard, there are two stone steles from the Le Dynasty and some stone blocks that support the pillars of the Tran Dynasty pagoda.
Ancient trees in Hoa Yen Pagoda
The pagoda has an overall architecture imbued with the cultural architecture of the Ly and Tran dynasties. With a structure made of ironwood, a roof covered with overlapping tiles, two dragons with wide open mouths… creating the solemnity of the pagoda.
In front of the pagoda are 3 ancient trees, over 700 years old, with lush branches and leaves, covered in ancient moss. On the right and left of the pagoda yard are two ancient fig trees or other giant trees that add depth and antiquity to the architectural space.
The Tower Garden
Behind Hoa Yen Pagoda is the Hue Quang tower garden, with 97 brick or earthen towers arranged side by side, forming a complex.
Located in the middle of the Quy Duc mausoleum is Hue Quang tower, the resting place of the first patriarch of Truc Lam – Tran Nhan Tong. In the tomb, there is a statue of Tran Nhan Tong in a meditative posture, wearing a cassock, the peaceful and calm appearance of an enlightened Zen master.
The cluster of tomb towers is the resting place of Zen masters practicing at Yen Tu. The Hue Quang tower complex does not evoke the obsession of death, of the terrifying silence of the other world, but is always warm with the love of life.
Hoa Yen Pagoda represents the harmony among architecture, nature, religion, and life. Hoa Yen Pagoda is an indispensable part of the Yen Tu spiritual, cultural, and architectural complex that every tourist wants to visit on a pilgrimage to the land of Buddha.
Source: collected by An
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