Upper Temple

Thuong Temple (Son Dong)

Thuong Temple, also called Thuong Son Dong Temple (in Ro village, Son Dong commune, Hanoi), is an important religious site located in Son Dong commune, Hanoi. It is the common tutelary god shrine of Noi and Ngoai villages, formerly belonging to Son Dong canton, Dan Phuong district, Quoc Oai prefecture, Son Tay garrison. The temple is located near Dien Phuc Pagoda.

Thuong Temple worships Saint Dao Truc, a famous general of the Early Le dynasty who made great contributions to driving out the Song army and then returned to his hometown to teach and help the people. The temple was established in 1485 and was expanded and made more spacious under King Le Thai To. Today, the temple still keeps an ancient genealogical record compiled by Nguyen Binh in 1572, detailing his background and career.

Thuong Temple has a “Môn” (gate) character-shaped architecture following the feng shui principle of “sitting north, facing south”, including a seven-bay Dai Bai (main worship hall) (with traces of renovation in 1914) symmetrical with two rows of left and right side halls. Beyond the canopy courtyard is a three-bay rear sanctuary with curved roofs and a traditional stacked-beam system. Many details from the 17th–18th centuries are still preserved here, notably a unique carved dragon panel reflecting folk and court art.

Thuong Temple currently preserves many ancient and valuable artifacts, such as a pair of stone nghê (mythical lion-like creatures) in the rear sanctuary, an incense table carved with the Four Sacred Creatures in the main hall, along with a pair of wooden cranes and a system of ancient horizontal plaques praising Saint Dao Truc. The spiritual space here is made more solemn by rich decorative art, from altar shrines and floral-carved thresholds to exquisite dragon, lân (mythical chimera), and chrysanthemum motifs, showing a skillful combination of refined carving technique and rustic traditional character.

In 1986, Thuong Temple was ranked by the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) as a national-level architectural and artistic relic.