Xuan Do Ha Pagoda

The pagoda is also known by its Sino-Vietnamese name Sung Phuc Tu.

Xuan Do village has the vernacular name Dau Ha, the Sino-Vietnamese name Hoa Dong, and the ancient name Xuan Do Trung; it was originally alluvial land of the Red River, called Xuan Do bank around the 15th-16th centuries.

The Xuan Do bank once witnessed many important events in national history. In 1523, the Le dynasty held a doctoral examination here. King Le Chieu Tong (1516-1522) and Prince Xuan (1522-1527) built a royal residence and established the court within the village area to avoid the control and domination of the powerful minister Mac Dang Dung.

According to the stele inscription erected in the 8th year of Canh Thinh (1800), the pagoda was preceded by a shrine to the Patriarchs; later, due to religious needs, it was expanded into a pagoda worshipping Buddha and acquired the imposing scale it has today. The inscription on the bronze bell hanging in the right chamber of the Front Hall, cast in the 2nd year of Canh Thinh (1793), states: 'Sung Phuc Pagoda in Hoa Dong village, Xuan Do commune, Gia Lam district, has long had a large bell but it was damaged; now the entire population has contributed money and property to recast the bell.' From these two sources, the pagoda's construction date can be estimated to around the Later Le period, and it was repaired during the Tay Son period.

After a long period of existence and many restorations and repairs, Xuan Do Ha Pagoda has also changed over the years, and the current pagoda bears many marks of restorations during the Nguyen period. During the long resistance war against the French colonial invasion, Xuan Do Ha Pagoda was also a revolutionary base in the area. The abbot, Venerable Bich, who looked after the pagoda at that time, was a liaison between the district and commune; he went out to encourage the monks of other pagodas to establish revolutionary bases, protect and shelter cadres coming to the locality to operate, eliminate tyrants, suppress traitors, and maintain the base.

Xuan Do Ha Pagoda is located on a high, spacious plot of land in the central area of the village. The overall architectural complex of the pagoda is harmoniously arranged in a large space. The old buildings are constructed in parallel and perpendicular rows, including: the Three Jewels Hall with a 'ding'-shaped structure, the Ancestor Hall, the Mother Goddess shrine, the monks' quarters, and the stupa garden.

Currently, the pagoda still preserves a fairly rich and diverse collection of cultural relics in terms of type and material, such as: 13 stone steles dating from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. The earliest stele was erected in the 8th year of Canh Thinh (1800). The remaining steles belong to the Nguyen period.

The pagoda has 2 bronze bells, including a large bell dated to the 2nd year of Canh Thinh (1794); a smaller bell dated to the 11th year of Bao Dai (1935); 32 round statues lacquered and gilded, dating from the 18th and 19th centuries; 1 altar cabinet; 2 thrones; 2 horizontal plaques; 4 pairs of parallel sentences lacquered and gilded.

Xuan Do Ha Pagoda was classified as an architectural and artistic relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information in 1994.

According to Hanoi Landmarks and Relics, Volume 02