Hung Long Pagoda (Yen Nguu Pagoda)

Yen Nguu Pagoda's literary name is Hung Long Tu, or Quoc Lao Hung Long Tu located in Yen Nguu Village, Dai Thanh Commune, Hanoi City. The pagoda stands in the middle of Yen Nguu Village, facing southeast. Because the village is called Ke Ngau, the pagoda is also called Ngau Pagoda. The pagoda was built on high, flat ground, right next to Yen Nguu Communal House and near the To Lich River.

Although no traces of the date of its initial construction have been found, surviving documents and artifacts confirm that Yen Nguu Pagoda has a long history of construction. In the 23rd year of Canh Hung (1762), the pagoda underwent a major restoration initiated by a Quoc Lao (national elder) of the Le dynasty. Because of this merit, the Quoc Lao was worshipped posthumously at the pagoda, and the pagoda was also called Quoc Lao Hung Long Tu.

The roof of Yen Nguu Pagoda is decorated with molded, painted, and ceramic-inlaid details that are quite elaborate and somewhat influenced by Central Vietnamese architecture; all structural components in the main pagoda are carved and decorated with motifs of dragons, phoenixes, flowers, and leaves that are highly symbolic. In the Mau Dien (Mother Goddess Hall), there is a bell named Hung Long Tu Chung, cast in the 7th year of Canh Thinh (1799). In front of the Ancestor Hall are two stone steles: one is the Hau Phat Bi Ky, carved in the 10th year of Canh Hung (1749), and the other is the Quoc Lao Hung Long Tu Bi Ky, carved in the 24th year of Canh Hung (1763).

Yen Nguu Pagoda was ranked by the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) as a Architectural and Artistic Relic National-level relic in 1995.