Discovery

Phu Dong Thien Vuong, one of the four immortals of Vietnamese religion

As a Vietnamese, everyone probably knows Giong, the boy who grew up after three years to become a hero swinging an iron stick and pulling up bamboo clumps to fight the enemy. But not many of us know about the temple built in the land where that boy was born (Phu Dong commune, Gia Lam district, Hanoi) and the sacred cultural and historical values associated with him. This national hero.
This article would like to invite you to visit Phu Dong Temple, also known as Giong Temple, worshiping Saint Giong – Phu Dong Thien Vuong, about 21 km from the center of Hanoi City. This is a spiritual tourist destination associated with the legend of Saint Giong passed down through generations of Vietnamese people.

In the first lunar month of every year, Giong Temple Relics is always a sacred destination that many tourists from all over choose to worship and participate in traditional rituals. Saint Phu Dong Thien Vuong, one of the four immortals of Vietnamese religion.
We will visit Giong Temple to review the legendary stories and golden pages of history at the temple that was recognized as a special national monument in 2013.
Phu Dong is a spiritual land with outstanding people, a place associated with many legends about the early period of building and defending the nation, most notably the hero of Giong village.

Saint Giong is also honored as Phu Dong Thien Vuong, Cung Thien Than Vuong, and is one of the four immortal saints (Four Immortals) in Vietnamese folk beliefs.

Historical and architectural artistic relics of Phu Dong Temple include 8 component relics, distributed in 3 villages of Phu Dong commune, with a total area of 60,343.7m2.

Thuong Temple (Phu Dong Thien Vuong Temple) – the place we are visiting is the main temple. The temple faces south, overlooking the Duong River dyke. Previously, this place was just a hermitage, but when King Ly Thai To moved the capital to Thang Long, he built it into a spacious temple. Having undergone many restorations, the current temple is mainly composed of pieces of works from the Ly Dynasty, Le Trung Hung Dynasty, Nguyen Dynasty and even parts with contemporary colors.

We continue to visit the temple of Phu Dong Thien Vuong, one of the four immortals of Vietnamese religion.
Giong Temple includes items: Water pavilion, Five-door gate, Phuong pavilion, Front hall, Middle hall, Hau palace, Left and right house, Giam house, Three-compartment house, Guest house, Restaurant.
Three temple gates: Built in the late 19th century. Right in front of the temple door, we can easily see the image of two quite large stone dragons, created in 1705. The pair of stone dragons are stylized with strong and generous touches.
Stepping behind the three gates, you will see two stone lions, one of the temple’s ancient treasures. It is known that the pair of stone lions were created during the reign of King Le Du Tong (1705).
In front of the temple gate is a large yard overlooking the lake and Water Pavilion, where activities such as water puppet shows and cultural performances take place every festival.
The water pavilion is located in the middle of the communal pond, has a square floor plan, with two floors, 8 roofs, and roofed with funny-nosed tiles. The sets have a structure that overlaps the beams, gongs, and roofs, divided into upper three and lower thirds. The roof system rests on 4 rows of pillars.

Next, we will enter the Five Gates Gate (five doors) with 3 main doors and 2 side doors, with a massive appearance like a city gate, built of bricks, the door frames all have a rolling arch structure, The door is upper and lower style. Above the gate is a 2-story, 8-roof building.
Stepping inside the eight-roofed house, each visitor will feel the quiet, majestic and very peaceful atmosphere here. In particular, visitors will see the impressive set of gongs and drums that are sounded every time the Giong temple festival opens.
The pair of gongs and drums has a diameter of up to 1.2m. During the festival season, the sound of drums and gongs will make the atmosphere more heroic in the scenes reenacting the heroic battle of Thanh Giong.
Along with the Giong Festival, Phu Dong Temple is truly an attractive destination for tourists from near and far because this is where the beautiful legend of the Vietnamese people in the process of building and defending the country was born.
To be continued