Thuong Pagoda

The pagoda stands on high ground and is structured in the shape of the character dinh, including a three-entrance gate, a front hall, and an upper sanctuary. Around the pagoda are orchards and ancient trees that give this relic complex a secluded atmosphere. The three-entrance gate is simple, with two tiers and four roofs, and walls built of laterite; a bell hangs on the upper tier, and the lower tier has three passages. The roof-supporting trusses of the three-entrance gate are simple, mainly with bamboo-shoot-shaped and line moldings. The front hall has three bays and two wings, four curved roof corners, and three doorways with one main door. The door system is made as folding panel doors, very convenient for use and creating a sense of privacy. Viewed from outside, this building has four curved roof corners, and its ridge and eave edges are decorated with imitation lemon-flower motifs. At the two ends of the ridge are two dragons in a variation of the Makara dragon style, biting the ridge and facing the sun in the center. The roof corners are curved to reduce the heaviness of the roof. Inside is a load-bearing frame consisting of four rows of columns. The main and subordinate columns are made of wood and stand on gourd-necked stone bases. The trusses are made in the style of upper stacked beams with double short supports, lower solid panels, and front and rear eaves braces. On the side beams, a right-triangular panel with a cut hypotenuse supports the central purlins; the interiors of the panels are carved with the four precious motifs. The upper sanctuary has three bays in a longitudinal layout. The first and second trusses are made in the style of upper stacked beams with double short supports and lower tie beams passing through side beams. The gable-end truss is made in the style of upper solid panels and lower panels. The interiors of the solid panels and panels are carved with seal-script patterns. The upper sanctuary has altars arranged from high to low for placing Buddha statues. At the highest position is a set of Tam The statues in 18th-century style. The second tier is Amitabha, flanked by attendant statues offering flowers. The third tier has Shakyamuni holding a flower in the center, flanked by Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta in the lotus position. The fourth tier has Cundi Avalokitesvara with twelve pairs of arms in the center, flanked by Maitreya and Tuyet Son. The next tier is the Two Heavenly Kings. Outside the front hall, the left side bay houses Duc Ong and the Dharma protector Khuyen Thien; the right side bay houses the Holy Monk and the Dharma protector Trung Ac. In the side bays of the upper sanctuary are the Eight Vajra Deities, the Holy Father and Holy Mother, and Dia Thuy and Thien Phu. In particular, the left gable-adjacent bay of the upper sanctuary houses a mountain-seated Avalokitesvara in Le dynasty artistic style (17th century). Symmetrically opposite the mountain-seated Avalokitesvara is a South Sea Avalokitesvara, also called Cundi Avalokitesvara. Thuong Pagoda also preserves one Nguyen dynasty bell and two Nguyen dynasty stone incense burners.

Thuong Pagoda was ranked as a historical and cultural relic by the People's Committee of Ha Tay Province in 2006./.