Te Xuyen Pagoda
Introduction
The main pagoda has a floor plan in the shape of the character dinh, comprising a front hall and an upper sanctuary.
The front hall consists of five bays built in the style of closed gable walls with ngai-style hand brackets; the front of the two gables extends beyond the veranda by about 1.50 m of wall. At the end of each of these wall sections, a veranda pillar is built almost as high as the roof ridge, with a square cross-section. At the top are four phoenixes with heads converging to form a trai gianh motif. Below are four lantern panels in relief depicting the four sacred creatures (dragon, ly, turtle, phoenix). The roof is covered with local tiles, and in the center of the ridge is a panel for recording the pagoda's name in Chinese characters “Linh Quang Tu”(Linh Quang Pagoda).
The upper sanctuary is built longitudinally, consisting of four bays connected to the center of the front hall. The building has a simple structure; the two outermost trusses use a system of corbel arches to support the purlins, while the inner trusses are made in the style of “upper stacked beams with giai chieng brackets and lower tie beams.” The corbel arches and wall panels are decorated with dragon-and-leaf, dragon-and-cloud, coiled dragon, phoenix, dragon facing the sun, and dragon facing a ho phu motif using relief carving techniques.
