Mai Trai Pagoda, Son Tay Ward, Hanoi City

Mai Trai Pagoda, whose literary name is Linh Ung Tu, is located in Trung Hung residential group, Son Tay Ward, Hanoi City, about 150m from Son Tay Ancient Citadel. It is one of the ancient pagodas with a long history, carrying many architectural, artistic and spiritual cultural values of the Doai region. The pagoda was founded around the late 17th century – early 18th century. Based on the bell 'Linh Ung Tu chung' still kept at the pagoda, dated to the second year of Vinh Thinh under the Hoang dynasty (1706), this is an important document contributing to determining the historical date of the relic.

Over many centuries of existence, Mai Trai Pagoda has been restored many times, typically in 1899 under the 11th year of King Thanh Thai, in 1995 and most recently in 2024. Currently, the pagoda is a religious architectural complex of relatively imposing scale, including main items such as the Three Jewels Hall, the Ancestor Hall, the Mother Goddess Hall, guest house and nuns' quarters, harmoniously arranged in a tranquil space, creating an ancient and solemn beauty.

One of the most outstanding values of Mai Trai Pagoda is its system of Buddha statues and worship statues with high artistic value, deeply imbued with the sculptural style of the Le and Nguyen dynasties. The statue system is arranged in many layers in the Three Jewels Hall, expressing rich Buddhist doctrinal content and aesthetics.

The pagoda also has stone steles at the stupa recording the biographies and practice process of generations of abbots who once resided here. These artifacts contribute to clarifying the history of formation and development of the pagoda through periods.

Not only a place for religious activities, Mai Trai Pagoda is also a space preserving cultural and artistic values and the spiritual life of the community of Doai region residents.

With outstanding historical, architectural, artistic and cultural values, Mai Trai Pagoda was ranked as a provincial-level historical-cultural relic by the People's Committee of Ha Tay Province (now Hanoi City People's Committee) under Decision No. 1586/QD-UBND dated November 28, 2002. Today, Mai Trai Pagoda is not only a place for religious activities of local people but also a meaningful cultural, spiritual and sightseeing address, contributing to preserving and promoting the distinctive values of the cultural heritage of the Doai region.