Tho Lao Pagoda

Tho Lao Pagoda was founded in the 18th century. During the resistance war against the French colonialists, the pagoda was destroyed by shellfire and burned down, leaving only three compartments of the Mother Worship Hall. After the liberation of the capital in 1954, the authorities, the abbot, and all the people restored the pagoda on its old site. Through several renovations in the Canh Ngo year (1990), the Mau Dan year (1998), and the most recent restoration in the Nham Thin year (2012), the architectural scale has been preserved intact to the present.
Currently, the main pagoda has a layout in the character nhi with a scale of 2 floors and 8 roofs, including: the Trai Duong dining hall, the Mahavira Hall, the Ksitigarbha altar, the Patriarch Hall, the Mother Worship Hall, the Four Graces Hall, and the sutra room... The pagoda still preserves a set of statues of the Three Ages, the Ever-Abiding Wonderful Dharma Body, statues of the World-Honored Buddhas, Amitabha, Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, Thousand-Hand Thousand-Eye Avalokitesvara, the Nine-Dragon Throne and the statue of the newborn Shakyamuni... The two altars to Duc Ong and the Holy Sangha are arranged in the two side compartments of the Three Jewels Hall. Most of these statues were created under the Nguyen dynasty in the 19th century. The artifacts are made of wood, such as horizontal lacquered boards, parallel sentences, incense tables... with themes mainly of the Four Sacred Creatures and Four Noble Plants - mythical creatures of the universe symbolizing the operation and transformation of creation, while also expressing human aspirations for life in nature. Most notably, a bronze bell from the Tay Son period, under the Canh Thinh reign year 6 (1798), indicates the early origin of the relic.
In addition, during 1936-1944, Tho Lao Pagoda was a place of activity for patriotic organizations in Dong Nhan village such as the Elderly Association, Women's Association, Youth Association... During the national resistance war, especially in the 60 days and nights of fire and smoke in Hanoi, the pagoda was a place where Viet Minh cadres were sheltered and a stationing, gathering, and transit point for wounded soldiers of the Capital Protection Regiment - Interzone I. Tho Lao Pagoda was awarded a revolutionary resistance relic plaque by the city in 2005 and ranked as a Historical - Artistic Relic in 2013.