Kien An Cung (Vietnamese: Kiến An Cung) or Kien An Temple is an ancient temple dating back nearly a hundred years. The unique architecture, bearing the Chinese style, has created a feature of a Chinese temple in the Mekong Delta.
History of Kien An temple
Kien An Cung was built in 1924 and completed in 1927, by a group of Chinese people from Fujian. At that time, there was a businessman named Huỳnh Thuận who mobilized a large number of Fujianese in Sa Đéc to build a temple.
Photo about Kien An Cung in the past
The main purpose was to maintain the traditional beliefs of their nation, to have a place to link the community, to meet, to discuss and to exchange information about business…. Kien An Cung worships many gods meticulously carved, decorated colorfully, but the main deity here is Mr. Quách who believed to protect and support the Fujianese. And with Chinese-style architecture, Kien An Cung was recognized by the Ministry of Culture and Information as a national historical-cultural relic on April 27, 1990.
Unique architecture of Kien An Cung
Kien An Cung is a very majestic and splendid temple. It has a large and airy yard. The outside surroundes by a solid fence. The entire yard coveres with cement so it’s very clean. The roof of the pagoda is covered with yin and yang tiles, in the middle of the roof is an image of “two dragons flanking a moon”.
A look from outside of Kien An Cung
The tiles are roofed in ripples at each level, the lower layer covers the ground for the upper waves to curve upward, each end of the wave is a miniature palace, in total has 6 palaces.
Roof top of Kien An Cung
On either side of the main entrance, there are two huge green stone unicorns. Beside the stones, there are paintings of two gods standing at the entrance.
Stepping through the main gate is “Sky well”. This is where light and ventilation help the temple always be bright and airy. In particular, the beauty of Thien Tinh is that it helps the temple quickly clear the smoke of incense during major holidays when there are many visitors come to pray.
Sky Well in Kien An Cung
Also, there are 12 rows, separated on both side, of large round columns supporting the roof of the temple. Around the column is intricately carved, wood-paneled with counters written in Chinese characters.
Right in the middle of the main hall is the altar of Mr. Quach, with the red face, hand is holding a jade belt; on both sides there are two gods holding sword seals, with majestic appearances… In front of the altar is the statue of another god, with two rows of shining weapons.
Main altar of Kien An Cung
Especially around the temple, there are many flexible and sharp “Ink wash paintings”, on the wall, with content promoting good and exorcism, taken from novels including “The Investiture of the Gods”, “Journey to the West”, and “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”….And most of the materials in this temple were transported from China, even builders and painters were also invited from China as well.
Every year, on February 22 of the lunar calendar and August 22 of the lunar calendar, worshiping ceremonies will be held. In addition, on full moon occasions, worshiping ceremonies often held here. Because it is considered a sacred temple in Dong Thap, tourists and people often come to pray for peace and worship.
Useful information
- Address: 39 Phan Bội Châu Street, Ward 1, Sa Đéc city, Đồng Tháp Province.
- Best for: Family, solo, couple
- Entrance: Free
- Opening Hours: Daily 07:00 – 18:00
- Other tourist spots nearby: Xẻo Quyét Relic Area, Gáo Giồng eco-tourism area, Sa Đéc flower gardens, Huynh Thuy Le ancient house, Tràm Chim National Park, The tomb of Nguyễn Sinh Sắc…
Source: collected by An
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