Kieu Mai Pagoda - Luu Bai Tu

Luu Bai Pagoda, also called Kieu Mai Pagoda, with the Sino-Vietnamese name Luu Bai Tu, is an ancient pagoda associated with Kieu Mai village, now in Xuan Phuong ward, Hanoi. Previously, the relic belonged to the Phu Dien - Tu Liem area. After many administrative boundary changes, the pagoda now lies in the urban area of western Hanoi but still retains an important position in the religious life of the Kieu Mai community.

Name Luu Bai Tu is shown directly on the pagoda's architecture, with three Chinese characters in relief on the roof ridge of the Front Hall. Meanwhile, the name Kieu Mai Pagoda comes from the very place name of the village where the pagoda is located.

The pagoda was built on a high, spacious plot of land adjacent to a residential area. There are many trees around it, and in front is a yard and garden, creating a relatively quiet space separated from the crowded residential area outside.

The exact founding date of the pagoda has not yet been determined. However, based on the round statues in Le dynasty artistic style, along with stone steles, bronze bells, and many Nguyen dynasty ritual objects, it can be seen that Luu Bai Tu existed quite early and underwent many renovations.

Most of the current architectural appearance bears the marks of repairs during the Nguyen dynasty and later periods. During its existence, the pagoda continued to be supplemented with a Three-Entrance Gate and bell tower, the Three Jewels Hall area, the Patriarch's House, the Mother's House, and a garden of stupas and tombs.

A notable document associated with the pagoda is the agreement document from the 5th year of the Duy Tan reign, 1911, recording the customary friendly relations between the two villages of Kieu Mai and Phu My. According to the old custom, Kieu Mai would procession down to Phu My on the 7th day of the first lunar month, while Phu My would go to Kieu Mai on the 20th day of the second lunar month. This document shows that the pagoda was not only associated with Buddhist life but also part of the village's long-standing network of community relations.

On August 1, 2008, Luu Bai Pagoda was ranked as a relic by the Hanoi City People's Committee.

Luu Bai Pagoda is arranged within fairly spacious grounds surrounded by many trees. The current architectural complex includes the Three-Entrance Gate and bell tower, the Three Jewels Hall, the Patriarch's House, the Mother's House, and the garden of stupas and tombs.

In front is the Three-Entrance Gate combined with a bell tower. Beyond the gate is a brick-paved courtyard; outside there is also a stupa and tomb area for monks who once practiced at the pagoda. Three low stupas are built in the traditional style, with a wall in front decorated with scroll motifs, apricot blossoms, chrysanthemums, and landscape scenes.

The Three Jewels Hall area is built on a ground plan the character Đinh, comprising the Front Hall and the Upper Sanctuary. The Front Hall has five bays, with closed gable ends and hand-shaped brackets. At the two front gable ends are ornamental pillars, with mythical lion-like figures on top facing each other. In the middle of the roof ridge are three Chinese characters “Luu Bai Tu”.

The wooden frame uses traditional structure with an upper rường – giá chiêng and lower kẻ truss system. The floor is paved with Bat Trang bricks. Behind is the Upper Sanctuary, consisting of four bays running lengthwise, connected directly to the central bay of the Front Hall, forming the vertical part of the Dinh character layout.

The Patriarch's House has five bays and is used to worship monks who were once associated with the pagoda. The Mother's House also has five bays, with the main bay housing statues of the Three Holy Mothers along with statues of the Holy Ladies, Holy Boys, and Princes.

The most notable value of the pagoda lies in its collection of artifacts. The pagoda still preserves many round statues, including some statues in Le dynasty artistic style, indicating an earlier historical layer than the surviving architecture.

There are also horizontal plaques, parallel sentences, ceremonial screens, bronze bells, stone steles, and ritual objects made of wood, stone, bronze, and ceramics. Although not large in number, these artifacts still help clarify the history of repairs, merit-making activities, and religious life of the Kieu Mai community.

The combination of the Dinh-character Three Jewels Hall, the Three-Entrance Gate and bell tower, the Patriarch's House, the Mother's House, the stupa garden, and the system of statues and ritual objects has created the distinctive value of Luu Bai Pagoda – a village pagoda that still retains many layers of cultural traces amid modern urban space.