Dong Pagoda is the most famous tourist spot in the Yen Tu scenic relic complex, the destination of all monks, Buddhists, and tourists from all over the world when making a pilgrimage to the sacred land of Yen Tu.
Ideal time to visit Dong pagoda
Yen Tu Pagoda is an ideal destination for those who love to explore the beauty of nature and Buddhist culture. You can visit Yen Tu Pagoda whenever you want because the air here is always fresh and cool. However, if you want to participate in Yen Tu festival, you should visit the pagoda from the 10th of January to the end of the third lunar month.
It should be note that many people come to the pagoda during this period, so you may have difficulty in traveling and staying. Therefore, prepare and plan your trip, choose a place to eat and stay at home in advance to make your journey of discovery more convenient.
In addition, the pagoda is located at the highest peak of Yen Tu mountain range. To reach the top, it takes about 4 hours by cable car and hiking or about 6 hours if you choose to walk from the foot of the mountain.
If you want to watch the sunrise or hunt for clouds, you should leave early in the morning!
The unique architecture of Dong Pagoda
Dong Pagoda, (Vietnamese: Chùa Đồng; Đồng means bronze – the main and the only material built this pagoda, chùa means pagoda), is located at the highest peak of Yen Tu mountain range, at an altitude of 1,068m above sea level. This is the largest bronze pagoda in Asia on the mountain top.
(photo source: laodong)
At first, Dong Pagoda was built by a concubine of Lord Trinh in the Later Le Dynasty (17th century). The pagoda was cast in bronze, different from the ironwood material used in other pagodas in Vietnam at that time. In this initial stage, the pagoda was just a small shrine to worship Buddha.
The pagoda has been restored and embellished many times. On June 3, 2006, theVenerable Thich Thanh Quyet and the Dong Pagoda Project Management Board, with the merit of domestic and foreign tourists and Buddhists, the ceremony of casting new Dong Pagoda was held according to the design of architect Tran Quoc Tuan who came from Institute of Monument Conservation.
Accordingly, the pagoda was made by famous bronze casting artisans in Y Yen, Nam Dinh province, cast according to the prototype of Dau Keo Pagoda (Thuan Thanh, Bac Ninh province).
(photo source: laodong)
The area of Dong Yen Tu Pagoda is nearly 20 square meters, weighs 70 tons, is 4.6 meters long, 3.6 meters wide and the height from the base to the roof is 3.35 meters. In which, each tile weighs about 4 kg, each of the 4 pagoda pillars weighs 1 ton.
(photo source: laodong)
The bell and bronze gong weigh over 250 kg.
The pagoda has a square architecture, the roof has a fish tail tile shape, the two ends of the ridge and the four ends of the roof are dragon heads in the style of the Tran Dynasty.
(photo source: laodong)
The roof of the pagoda extends in four directions to form a porch. The three sides of the pagoda are bronze panels fitted together to form a wall. The lower part of the wall is decorated with a strip of leaf-shaped patterns. The front of the pagoda’s porch has a corridor, the railing is made of bamboo-shaped bars.
The system of Buddha statues in the pagoda includes 1 statue of Buddha Shakyamuni and 3 statues of the Three First Ancestors of Truc Lam. The statue is on average 0.45 – 0.87m high and sits on a lotus pedestal.
(photo source: laodong)
Many visitors to the Dong Pagoda jostle each other to be able to put their hands on the pagoda for luck.
(photo source: laodong)
Previously, the only way to get to Dong Pagoda was on foot, having to cross thousands of stone steps and mountain forest paths over a distance of about 6km. But in recent years, the Yen Tu Scenic Area Management Board has put into use a cable car to help visitors from all over easily conquer Dong Pagoda.
view from cable car in Yen Tu
Sitting on the cable car, visitors can admire Yen Tu mountain from above, then continue walking to conquer the sacred Yen Tu mountain.
Source: collected by An
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