La Phu Pagoda (Trung Hung Tu)

La Phu Pagoda is located in Doan Ket village, An Khanh commune, Hanoi city. Local legend says the pagoda was built during the Ly dynasty. However, today the pagoda retains only traces from the Le, Tay Son, and Nguyen dynasties.

The three-entrance gate was built to serve both as a three-entrance gate and a bell tower. The entire three-entrance gate complex is 14 m long, in which the main gate is the bell house, 5.3 m long. The upper part of the four roofs is supported by two main columns. Around it are plain columns placed on four walls. On the roof hangs a large bell dating from the Tay Son period. The two side gates are made of tall brick pillars, on which are placed meticulously carved animal figures.

- Main pagoda: built in the shape of the Chinese character Dinh, including: 5 compartments of the Front Hall and 4 compartments of the Rear Hall. The pagoda is roofed with local tiles, enclosed by walls on four sides; the roof-supporting trusses are made in the style of upper stacked beams and lower brackets with six rows of feet; on each truss many parts are carved and decorated with dragon and phoenix motifs common in the 19th century.

Parallel to the main pagoda on the left is a 9-compartment guest house, with a low roof and trusses in the upper beam-lower bracket style, carved with themes of the four sacred creatures, four noble plants, flowers, and leaves.

The Ancestor House is located immediately behind the Rear Hall of the main pagoda; this is where Bodhidharma is worshipped. It has late architectural dating and a moderate scale, consisting of 5 compartments, roofed with local tiles in the style of gable walls with sealed ends, inside are trusses of four rows of feet joined in the upper rafter-lower bracket style.

The artifacts of artistic value at La Phu Pagoda can be divided into basic types: round statues, stele decoration art, and wood carving. Outstanding are the system of round statues and the steles from the Later Le period.

The statues of La Phu Pagoda are rich and concentrated in the main pagoda, made from different materials: stone, bronze, wood, and earth; there are 03 realistic, vivid stone statues of 17th–18th century folk art; 03 bronze statues cast in the 19th century with the slender forms of venerable monks: Tu Dao Hanh, Khong Lo, and Giac Hai. The statue system of La Phu Pagoda is large in size and arranged in order of increasing height from the outside to the inside.

The steles from the Le Trung Hung period are of two types: square pillar steles and flat steles; both types have borders and headers meticulously carved, with decorative art and themes very close to the steles at the Temple of Literature. In addition, La Phu Pagoda also has some typical artifacts such as: the Thien Hung ancient bell cast in the second Canh Thinh year (1794); the Thien Hung Tu bell cast in the second Tu Duc year (1849); the Thien Hung Tu Hau Phat stele inscription dating from Le Trung Hung; two square steles erected in the second Vinh Tri year (1677); horizontal plaques, long altars, curtains...

With these typical values, the communal house and pagoda of La Phu were ranked by the Minister of Culture as a National Architectural and Artistic Monument under Decision No. 191-VH/QD dated March 22, 1988./.