Mau Luong Ha Pagoda (Dai Bi Pagoda)

Mau Luong Pagoda - Dai Bi Tu faces west on an area of 2,000 square meters and includes the main structures: the three-entrance gate, front hall, upper hall, ancestor hall, and guest house. According to folk legend, Mau Luong Pagoda was built long ago and has undergone many repairs, yet it still retains the artistic architectural style of the Nguyen period. The buildings are constructed with closed gable walls; the former wooden columns deteriorated severely over time and were replaced by the local people with brick columns, so the roof-truss structure also became simpler. In the front hall, the trusses are uniformly made in the chong ruong hau bay style, while in the upper hall they follow the chong ruong gia chieng con nhi style. Most of these trusses are smoothly planed and edged with moldings to harmonize with the flat wall surfaces; only the beam ends in the truss of the main worship bay are carved with dragon heads featuring bat faces, animal ears, upturned noses, and swirling manes...

On the upper hall is a system of circular statues; Mau Luong Pagoda has 35 statues arranged in five tiers, most made of fired clay and then lacquered and gilded. Among these 35 statues, most notable is the second tier, including Mahasthamaprapta, Amitabha, and Avalokitesvara, and the third tier, including Shakyamuni holding a flower, Ananda, and Kassapa, dating to the 17th century. Besides some horizontal plaques, couplets, and incense tables decorated with motifs of the four sacred creatures and four noble plants in wood, Mau Luong Pagoda also has other relics such as a bell from the Tay Son period and 24 stone steles, including the lost Dai Bi Tu stele erected in the 7th year of Duong Hoa (1641), with decorative patterns: the stele top is carved with a saddle-style dragon, the long body is carved from the right corner of the stele top upward, the back of the stele top is carved with a phoenix facing the moon with graceful phoenix wings, and the stele border is carved with interconnected S-shaped patterns interspersed with chrysanthemum leaves, symbolizing the agricultural community's wish for a good harvest.