Bai Dinh Pagoda is a part of Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex of Ninh Binh province, about 18km from Ninh Binh city and about 100km from Hanoi capital.
Bai Dinh Pagoda is one of the most famous and the largest temple complex not only in Vietnam, but also in Southeast Asia. With its complicated and delicate beauty, the pagoda has broken many records to become the largest pagoda in Southeast Asia, the temple with the largest gilded bronze statue in Asia, the pagoda with the longest Arhat corridor,…
But is the pagoda only famous for its majesty or golden appearance? Bai Dinh Pagoda are more than all of the flashy adjectives the social gave it. This pagoda and temple complex is the envidence and maintance of nearly thousand years in the history and religious life of Vietnamese people, by generations.
Tourists may not know that this iconic temple complex actually consists of two different part: the thousand-year Old temple and the New complex. For the first time visiting here, visitors will be impressed by the majestic beauty and the sacred story about the long and rich history of this pagoda. So, what does this famous complex really have?
The Old Temple of Bai Dinh (Bái Đính Cổ Tự) was found in 1136 by Zen Master Nguyen Minh Khong. Located on the top of Bai Dinh mountain, the ancient temple is covered with a sacred vibe. To visit this ancient temple, we will need to conquer a series of more than 300 stone steps to enter the three-entrance gate – one of the icons of Bai Dinh temple
The three-entrance gate of Bai Dinh Old Temple (Cre: phatgiao.org.vn)
The well of Jade is believed to never run out of water for nearly a thousand years. All year round, the well is full and covered by a emerald green color. The monks still use the water from the well of Jade for every worship offering in Bai Dinh pagoda.
Bai Dinh Well of Jade from above (Cre: mototgo.vn)
Light cave is the place to worship Buddha and the Deities, while Dark cave is the place to worship Mother and the Fairies.
The New Bai Dinh Temple (Bái Đính Tân Tự) is located on Ba Rau hills, covers an area of 700 hectares. This complicated complex took 7 years (from 2003 to 2010) to complete. Based on the architecture of the Old temple, one of the important mission of this new temple is to maintain the tradional value of the complex, but can still bring this religious destination to become an icon of Buddhism in Vietnam.
To complete this New temple, artisans used marterials came from the most famous traditional handicraft villages in North Vietnam. The construction was build from stones and timber quarried in Ninh Binh, while they used tiles from Bat Trang (a famous pottery village in Hanoi, Vietnam) for the rooftop. The finials were delicated curved to resemble the shape of phoenix’s tail. The interior were also sculptured, carving and gilded by the top artisans came from the most famous traditional villages.
With all those sophisticated works, the New Pagoda of Bai Dinh now can show the world its sacred and majestic beauty. Visiting the new complex, visitors are advised to explore Tam Quan Gate, Bell Tower, Quan Am Palace, Dao Chu Temple, Tam The Palace, Bao Thap tower, Arhat Corridor and Buddhist Cultural Park ...
The three-entrance gate of New Bai Dinh complex (Cre: dantri.com.vn)
The steeple in Bai Dinh pagoda is the place to keep Dai Hong Chung – the biggest bronze bell and the biggest bronze drum that you can find in Vietnam today. The bell tower with the shape of a lotus flower is one of the most outstanding architectures of the temple's spiritual tourism complex.
The biggest bell steeple of Vietnam (Cre: dantri.com.vn)
Arhat Corridor is made entirely of wood. The corridor is devided into 2 rows and is totally 3,400m long with 250 compartments. Along two sides of the corridor, there are 500 Arhat statues. These statues are carved by artisans of Ninh Van stone village.
Maitreya Buddha statue is located on the top of the highest hill in Bai Dinh complex. The statues is about 100m high and was casted in bronze.
The largest Maitreya Buddha statue in Southeast Asia
Bao Thap tower was recorded as the tallest Buddha stupa in Asia, with a height of 100 m. The tower consists of 13 floors, with an elevator and 72 climbing steps. This stupa is where remains the relics of Buddha.
From this height, we can enjoy a great view cover all the stunning landscapes of the complex
