Hoa Phat Pagoda (Sai Khe Pagoda)

The pagoda was founded during the reign of King Le Hien Tong. Through many restorations and embellishments, by the 17th century the pagoda had a considerable scale and a fairly rich and complete system of statues. By the early 19th century the pagoda had seriously deteriorated, and the villagers moved it to the foot of the mountain and restored it there. In the At Hoi year 1935, Hoa Phat Pagoda underwent a major restoration, leaving it with its current scale.

Currently, Hoa Phat Pagoda has the following structures: the three-entrance gate, bell tower, main pagoda, Patriarch-Mother house, and auxiliary works.

The three-entrance gate and bell tower were built simply of lime and brick in the two-story-on-a-square-base style. On the upper floor of the three-entrance gate hangs a gong inscribed “Hoa Phat Tu”, cast in the 20th year of Minh Menh (1839). The bell tower was built in 1944 and hangs the bell “Hoa Phat Tu Chung”, cast in the Dinh Ty year of the Tay Son period.

The main pagoda and the Patriarch-Mother house are placed parallel to each other on a high foundation leaning against the mountainside, in the style of closed gable walls with hand-shaped corbels. The trusses are made in the “upper stacked beams, lower braces, protruding eaves” style. They are mainly planed smooth and fitted tightly to create an elegant and solemn look. The other buildings of the pagoda run along both sides of the courtyard, forming a square U shape.

The artistic decoration in Hoa Phat Pagoda is mainly concentrated in the system of relics. The circular statue system includes 51 circular statues together with the Nine Dragon throne, among which many are beautiful, such as Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, Shakyamuni attaining enlightenment, along with two attendants in this statue set. Many y mo panels and carved wooden door curtains, together with horizontal plaques, couplets, and large characters, are brightly lacquered and gilded. In front of the pagoda, five stone steles are erected in stele houses, and some steles are also carved on the rocky mountainside.