Ngoc Phuc Pagoda

Ngoc Phuc Pagoda was ranked as a national relic under Decision No. 2890-VH/QĐ dated September 27, 1997, by the Ministry of Culture and Information, now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

Ngoc Phuc Pagoda is situated on high, open ground in the center of Ngoc Liep Village. The pagoda faces east, with the village road in front and residents gathered around.

Like many other pagodas, Ngoc Phuc Pagoda is a religious architectural work dedicated to Buddha. Notably, Ngoc Phuc Pagoda also worships Zen Master Tu Dao Hanh, a famous monk of the Ly dynasty. According to the inscription on the stone stele “Hau Phat due dieu bi” at the pagoda, in the fifth year of Vinh Tri (1680), the ancients built the pagoda. The pagoda has a layout and architectural composition in the shape of the character “đinh”, including the Bai Duong hall, Thuong Dien, and behind the Hau Cung is the Mother Goddess shrine. The Bai Duong hall has five bays and six roof trusses, surrounded by enclosed gable walls. The trusses are structured in the style of connecting beams, front cantilevers, and rear beams made of smooth round wood tightly fitted. The decorative patterns on the purlins of the trusses in front of the Hau Cung are quite elaborately carved, with images of flowers and leaves, the character “tho” (longevity), flying phoenixes, etc. The decorative motifs in the late Nguyen style have been modified. Supporting the first beam are two dragon heads holding a pearl, carved with floral and leaf patterns. The Hau Cung has four bays and three rows of columns, with trusses using upper tie beams and lower beams decorated with leaf patterns, seal-script characters, and the four sacred animals.

The artifacts preserved at the relic site are quite rich: the basic system of Buddha statues, as in other pagodas in the Red River Delta, with the upper rows being the Buddhas of the Three Times, followed by Amitabha, Kim Dong, and Ngoc Nu. In the middle are the Jade Emperor and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, Maitreya, the Infant Shakyamuni, South Sea Guanyin, the Eight Vajra Deities... in the sculptural art style of the 18th century. In addition, there are three bronze bells dating from the 19th century; three stone steles; two eel-skin glazed ceramic incense bowls in the artistic style of the Later Le period... along with many ritual objects such as incense tubes, candlesticks, and a deity genealogy recording the legend of Zen Master Tu Dao Hanh.

Together with the village communal house, Ngoc Phuc Pagoda helps beautify the landscape of a poetic countryside village along the Tich River. It is the center of the village's religious activities and was also a revolutionary base during the resistance war against the French.