As a religious facility and community association of Vietnamese people of Chinese origin, recognized as a national historical and cultural relic, Kien An Cung Pagoda has attracted 7,000 visitors since the beginning of the year, an increase of 20% compared to the same period last year.
Unique architecture
Taking a reporter from Giao Thong Newspaper to visit Kien An Cung Pagoda located on Phan Boi Chau Street, Sa Dec City (Dong Thap), Mr. Phan Thoai Trong, Manager of this religious facility, said that Ong Quach Pagoda (Kien An Cung Pagoda) was started in 1924 and completed in 1927.
The characteristic architecture of Kien An Cung is the boat-shaped roof, with two curved roof edges.
Kien An Cung was built in the shape of the letter "cong", including 3 rooms: the east wing, the west wing and the main hall, in the middle is a quiet courtyard. The temple's scaffolding does not use rafters, only mortise and tenon beams to support the load and a 3-layer truss system attached to the main pillar is quite sturdy.
One of the architectural features of the Fujian Chinese assembly hall is the boat-shaped roof, with two curved ends, creating a beauty that is both ancient and elegant.
The roof of Kien An Cung is covered with 3 layers of tiles, the top layer of tiles runs in wavy lines. From the top to the roof are curved waves, on the top of the waves are built miniature models of multi-storey palaces, along with ceramic statues.
Kien An Cung Pagoda was started in 1924 and completed in 1927.
In the middle of the roof, there are ceramic works such as dragons worshiping the moon, fish transforming into dragons, etc. and some decorative patterns using the technique of assembling pieces of porcelain and ceramic pieces along the curved edges of the roof tiles. At the end of the roof, there are tubular shaped tiles attached.
The frame system is carved with flowers, leaves, pheasants, and double happiness characters attached under the roof arch, connecting to the walls and column heads. On each column head, there are sculptures such as a lantern carved with chrysanthemums, pheasants, etc.
Kien An Palace has two main and secondary entrances. In front of the main hall is a pair of majestic blue stone unicorns on a vividly carved stone pedestal.
The frame system is carved with flowers, pheasants, and double happiness characters attached under the roof arch, connecting to the walls and column heads.
The main entrance does not have a horizontal lacquered board as is often seen in religious establishments, but is a vertical sign, designed like a model of a worshiping bell, carved very delicately and on each side is a pair of embossed dragons and a flower pot.
In addition, this area also has paintings in the ink style, with themes of flowers and scenes of the daily life of ancient Chinese mandarins, perhaps to reminisce about the homeland.
The Chinese believe that red brings prosperity, luck, and happiness, so from the inside out, from the door frames, the parallel sentences, the wooden panels, and the wooden trellis in the main room... everything is red.
Kien An Cung Pagoda was recognized as a National Historical and Cultural Relic in 1990.
"In particular, under the main pillar, a carved panel is attached at the intersection between the column and the main pillar, creating a unique artistic border frame.
With its bold Chinese-style architecture and unique traditional culture, Kien An Palace was recognized by the Ministry of Culture and Information as a National Historical and Cultural Relic in 1990," Mr. Trong added.
Tourist destination
Unlike the Cantonese Chinese who often worship Guan Yu, the Fujian Chinese community reveres Mr. Guo more. Because Mr. Guo is originally from An Khe, Fujian, a typical example of strong will, tolerance...
In front of the main hall of Kien An Cung pagoda, there is a pair of majestic green stone unicorns placed on a stone pedestal.
Mr. Quach was awarded the title of Ung Linh Uy Hau by the Chinese feudal court and is a god similar to the Thanh Hoang god of our country, with the title Bao An Quang Trach Ton Vuong.
The special thing about this temple is that the worship only focuses on the gods of the Fujian province. Specifically, the main hall of Kien An Cung has 3 areas, with 3 large altars.
The main god Quang Trach Ton Vuong is worshiped in the middle room. The worshiping statue is placed in a gong, on which is a plaque with the words Quach Thanh Vuong. The gong is elaborately crafted with 3 layers of carved parasols, 2 outer pillars with embossed dragons, gilded. The top gong is curved in the shape of a heart, carved with flowers and leaves.
A pair of cranes standing in front and a trellis on both sides are similar to Vietnamese temples.
The statue of Mr. Quach with a red face, holding a jade belt inside, with attendant gods holding swords and seals on both sides. On the right is the altar of Emperor Bao Sanh, equally majestic.
Bao Sanh Dai De (commonly known as Lao Yia) is a god from Bach Hung village, Long Hai, Phuc Kien. In many Chinese temples, this god has two attendants: Phuc Duc Chinh Than and Thien Hau Thanh Mau.
On the left is the altar of Thanh Thuy Dai Su, a magician and hero against the Yuan Dynasty at the end of the Song Dynasty named Tran Chieu Ung, also from Fujian.
In front of the three-statue altar is the altar of Huyen Thien Thuong De and Quan Thanh De Quan. Here, there are also arranged the ceremonial banner, a pair of standing cranes and a trellis on both sides similar to Vietnamese temples.
"Because of these special things, every time I have the opportunity to visit Sa Dec city, Dong Thap province, I go to Kien An Cung pagoda to burn incense to pray for peace and health for my family," said Ms. Huynh Thi Phuong (55 years old, living in Ho Chi Minh City).
Kien An Cung Pagoda is a destination for many tourists. Since the beginning of the year, it has welcomed 7,000 visitors, an increase of 20% compared to the same period last year.
Ms. Vo Thi Binh, Vice Chairwoman of Sa Dec City People's Committee (Dong Thap) informed that Kien An Cung Pagoda is one of two national historical and cultural relics and belongs to the famous types of religious architectural and artistic relics that attract domestic and international tourists to visit.
Since its construction, the pagoda has been renovated three times, most recently in 2022, with a total cost of more than 8 billion VND.
To continue to preserve and promote the historical and cultural value of Kien An Cung Pagoda, the City People's Committee has directed the Department of Culture and Information to coordinate with relevant agencies and units to promote propaganda, promote images, develop tourism associated with the image of people and culture of Dong Thap to tourists.
"In addition, Sa Dec city also directed relevant units to proactively research and implement the application of information digitization, standardize the data system of cultural heritage of typical communal houses and ancient houses with explanations, stories... imbued with traditional indigenous culture, creating unique products to serve tours and routes, contributing to tourism development," said Ms. Binh.
Every year, Kien An Cung Pagoda holds two festivals: on the 22nd of the 8th lunar month to celebrate King Quach's enlightenment and on the 22nd of the 2nd lunar month to celebrate his death anniversary. On these days, many visitors from all over the world come to worship, regardless of whether they are Chinese or Vietnamese.
Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/doc-dao-kien-an-cung-192241212125147505.htm
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