Yen Thai Pagoda

Yen Thai Pagoda (Phuc Lam Tu) is located in Yen Thai Hamlet, Son Dong Commune, Hanoi City.

Yen Thai Pagoda (Phuc Lam Tu) is a national-level historical and artistic relic in the ancient alluvial land along the former Day River. Due to riverbank erosion, the pagoda was relocated onto the current dike surface and underwent several major restorations (1854, 1900, 1914, 2003, 2009, 2013). During the resistance wars, the pagoda had a secret tunnel beneath the Upper Hall serving guerrillas in the anti-French period, and also served as an ammunition depot and school during the anti-American period.

The overall architectural layout of the pagoda today is very imposing and coherent, including: a two-story, eight-roof brick Tam Quan - Bell Tower with overlapping roofs (chong diem) hanging a bell and a gong; the Tam Bao building with a Dinh (丁) character structure comprising the Front Hall (5 bays with 2 side wings, a porch with 6 square stone columns carved with the Four Seasons, the roof ridge decorated with dragons flanking the sun, and a frame system combining giao chieng and chong ruong) and the Upper Hall (3 bays with 2 side wings, with a simple chong ruong con nhi frame). Auxiliary works around the grounds include the Patriarch House worshiping Bodhidharma, the Mother House with a Dinh character structure worshiping the Three Holy Mothers, the newly built Mat That hall with four curved roofs, along with a 5-bay Guest House and an ancient stupa garden.

The worship space inside the Upper Hall is arranged very solemnly in 7 tiers of statues from the innermost to the outermost: Three Worlds; Amitabha (with Avalokiteshvara and Mahasthamaprapta); Snow Mountain - Maitreya; Cundi Avalokiteshvara (with the Two Heavenly Kings); Nine Dragons (with the Two Bodhisattvas); Jade Emperor - Southern Dipper - Northern Dipper; and the outermost tier is the Two Heavenly Kings. Along both side aisles and outside the Tam Bao, there are also statues of South Sea Avalokiteshvara, Thi Kinh Avalokiteshvara, the Ten Kings of Hell, Khuyen Thien - Trung Ac, Duc Ong and Holy Monk, harmoniously combined with a system of horizontal lacquered boards, couplets, and gilded carved ceremonial curtains.

Yen Thai Pagoda was recognized by the Hanoi City People's Committee as a historical, architectural, and artistic relic in 2025.