King's Pagoda

King's Pagoda is the name of the whole relic complex, including Hung Khanh Pagoda, which worships Buddha, and Thien De Temple, which worships De Thich; the pagoda's Sino-Vietnamese name is Hung Khanh Tu.
It is said that King's Pagoda dates from the Ly Dynasty (1019–1226) and existed for a long time until the Early Le Dynasty (1428–1527), when a prince established it to worship De Thich and used it as a center for Chinese chess competitions in Thang Long Citadel. Over time, the relic has been restored and repaired many times. The pagoda was once a base and a place for activities and travel of predecessor revolutionaries in the early years after the Party was founded. After the revolution, the pagoda was used as the headquarters of the local revolutionary government. At the end of 1949, Khanh Hung Pagoda was destroyed by war. Today King's Pagoda mainly bears the characteristics of its last restoration at the end of the 20th century. However, the three-entrance gate, ceremonial gate and stupa tombs still bear old traces. The pagoda now retains two three-entrance gates, the De Thich temple, the Mau house area and the corridor.
Currently, the pagoda still preserves many typical valuable antiquities, such as: 14 wooden statues from the 19th century, most notably the statue of De Thich, the Cuu Long throne and 3 Mother Goddess statues; 2 bronze censers from the Nguyen Dynasty; 1 small bell from the Tay Son period (Canh Thinh era), 2 large bells from the Le Dynasty; 2 jars from the Le Dynasty and a pair of worship cranes; 1 large pierced-carving altar curtain with chrysanthemum vine and chrysanthemum motifs, 19th century; 1 worship niche with a dragon-carved throne decorated with facing dragons and four sacred creatures, 19th century; 2 multicolored glazed ceramic jars from Qing China, 18th century; 1 small bronze bell 'Thien De Dien Cung' (Bell of Thien De Temple); 1 bronze bell 'Hung Khanh Tu Chung' (Bell of Hung Khanh Pagoda) cast in the 3rd year of Thanh Thai (1892); 3 poems, 3 horizontal lacquered boards and 4 couplets praising the merits of Thien Than De Thich and the beauty of the relic...
Every year, from the 6th to the 9th day of the first lunar month, Thinh Yen Village holds its festival; the chess-playing festival is a form of folk festival. In addition to the ritual part as at other temples and pagodas, the main content of the festival is the 'chess festival' with Chinese chess competitions. The 9th is the main festival day. This is both a spiritual place for worshiping Buddha and the Chess King, and a place where chess players often come to compete before audiences who are fans of this intellectual sport. The pagoda was ranked as a National Historical and Cultural Relic in 1992. On October 1, 2004, the pagoda was awarded a plaque as a Revolutionary Resistance Relic because it was a secret activity site of revolutionary Nguyen Phong Sac, secretary of the Central Region Party Committee.