Cấn Xá Thượng Pagoda

Cấn Xá Thượng Pagoda was ranked as a national heritage site under Decision No. 2233QĐ/BT dated June 26, 1995, issued by the Ministry of Culture and Information, now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

Cấn Xá Thượng Pagoda is named after the village; the pagoda also has the Sino-Vietnamese name 'Sùng Hưng tự'. In the Lê dynasty, Cấn Xá Thượng belonged to Kinh Xá Commune, later renamed Cấn Xá, Cấn Xá Canton, Yên Sơn District, Quốc Oai Prefecture, Sơn Tây Garrison; in the Nguyễn dynasty it belonged to Sơn Tây Province; in 1946 Cấn Xá Thượng merged with Cấn Xá Hạ to form Cấn Xá Commune. In 1948, Cấn Xá Commune merged with Hữu Quang Commune to form Cấn Hữu Commune. After implementing the two-tier local government model, Cấn Xá Thượng Pagoda now belongs to Cấn Thượng Village, Kiều Phú Commune, Hà Nội City.

Cấn Xá Thượng Pagoda is about 28 km west of central Hà Nội. From Hà Nội, follow the Láng - Hòa Lạc Expressway to Quốc Oai Commune, reach the three-way junction (bookstore), turn left onto the inter-commune road for about 6 km, and pass Cấn Market to reach the relic site.

At present, the pagoda has a Tam quan (three-entrance gate), main pagoda, ancestor house, and garden. The Tam quan gate is built in the stacked-eave style with two tiers and eight roofs. Its surface has two pillars, with four phoenixes in relief on the face. The pagoda has a 'công'-shaped layout, comprising the Đại bái (main hall), ống muống (tube-shaped connecting house), and Thượng điện (upper hall), on a grand and spacious scale. The Đại bái has five bays and two side wings, measuring 21.3 m long and 7 m wide, built with gable walls closed at the gable ends. The Thượng điện has three bays and two side wings, measuring 9 m long and 7.5 m wide; its truss structure is of the upper chồng rường–giá chiêng and lower kẻ hiện type with six rows of column bases. The Thượng điện is connected to the Tiền đường (front hall) by an ống muống connecting house. Behind is the ancestor house, with four bays, its roof structure of the kèo cầu quá giang type.

Overall, the architecture of Cấn Xá Thượng Pagoda is strongly folk-style, mainly smooth-carved and tightly joined, with a few cloud-and-leaf motifs, and the carving is free and soft. At the first beam, the kẻ hiện has terracotta leaf-cover panels with incised patterns. This type of terracotta leaf-cover panel is rarely found in other pagodas.

The current pagoda has been repaired many times, but the main pagoda area still retains traces of the Lê dynasty, with vồ bricks and floral decorative motifs incised in a style typical of the 18th century. Most notable here is the Buddha statue system, with 60 round statues arranged on the Tam bảo in the Thượng điện and Tiền đường. The round statues are shown in fairly natural postures, with full faces and high noses; the statue surfaces have many decorative motifs typical of the 18th–19th centuries, such as lotus pedestals with plump petals narrowing toward the top and S-shaped spiral patterns ... The pagoda was ranked as an architectural and artistic relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information in 1995