Located next to the main gate in the area of ​​Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden is an ancient architectural structure resembling the Hue mausoleum temple.

The Hung King Temple was built between 1927 and 1929 under the name Temple du Souvenir Annamite to honor the Vietnamese soldiers who fought and died for France in World War I (1914 – 1918). After 1954, when the French troops withdrew from Vietnam, the temple was rededicated to the memory of Vietnam’s founding Hung dynasty and officially renamed the National Hung King Ancestor Temple.

Architecture of Hung Kinh Temple

The temple is designed in the style of the Nguyen Dynasty, with dragons flanking the stone steps leading up to the main gate.

The roof is supported by 12 black wooden pillars, with a diameter of about 50cm. Each pillar represents a sign of the zodiac. The roof was decorated with a phoenix, a dragon, cranes, unicorns, and turtles, and featured a three-layered, curved roof. The ceiling inside is painted vermilion and carved with dragons and phoenixes.

In the center of the temple, there is a Hung King Shrine. A set of eight bronze-tipped weapons, a gong, a drum, two replica Dong Don drums, and a model of the main Hung King temple in Phu Tho Province, North Vietnam, are highlights of the temple.

There is also a marble stele with the names of Le Van Duyet, Phan Thanh Giang, Nguyen Huynh Duc, Truong Vinh Ky, Tong Doc Loc, and many other Annamites who died in battle. Around the temple, many pictures depict life from the primitive era to the Hung King era through activities such as agriculture, hunting, fishing, pottery, bronze casting, fabric weaving, and weapon-making.

In front of the temple is a three-ton bronze elephant statue mounted on a rectangular concrete pedestal. This was presented to the city as a gift by King Rama VII of Siam on the occasion of his first visit to Indochina on 14 April 1930.

Every year, on March 10th (lunar calendar), the temple also holds the Hung Kings Commemoration festival, giving thanks to the Hung dynasty for its contributions to the Vietnamese nation.

Useful information about Hung King Temple in Ho Chi Minh City

  • The Hung King Temple is open for visits Tuesday to Sunday every week.
  • Address: 02 Nguyen Binh Khiem, Sai Gon Ward.
  • No admission fee if you don’t go inside the temple.
  • If you would like to go inside the temple, you should visit the temple from 8:00 to 11:30, and from 13:00 to 17:00 on the 1st, 15th, & 30th of the lunar months. The entrance fee is VND 30,000, and the ticket should be purchased at the Museum of Vietnamese History ticket booth in Ho Chi Minh City, opposite the Hung King Temple.

Source: collected by An