Hoang Xa Shrine, Luu Hoang Hamlet, Hoa Phu Commune, Hanoi City

Hoang Xa Shrine, Luu Hoang Hamlet, Hoa Phu Commune, Hanoi City

Hoang Xa Shrine is a horizontal house consisting of 3 bays and 2 lean-tos with brick walls and closed gable ends.

Viewed from outside, the shrine has two sloping roofs covered with ri tiles; the ridge is edged with a dinh border, both ends of the ridge are decorated with dau dinh, at the center of the ridge is a ho phu motif carrying the sun, and the ends of the roof edge are built in stepped form. The facade has three doors; notably, the carvings at the central bay door are divided into many panels, each carved with different themes such as the four sacred creatures and the four precious plants...

The roof truss structure inside the shrine is made in the style: 'upper stacked ruong, lower con'. The two ends of the main columns are connected by a cau dau tie beam using a mortise cut at the column head. On the back of the tie beam, straight ruong supports are stacked on each other via square abutments with tapered bases; the top ruong supports the upper ridge via a boat-shaped abutment. The ruong lying close to the tie beam is cut into segments and transformed into con nhi. Below the tie beam, a xa nach side beam mortised from the body of the main column and connected to the top of the military column supports a triangular con panel, whose hypotenuse is cut differently to support the middle purlin.

The truss structure of the side bay is made in the style: 'keo ke tru noc'. The entire truss system of the side bay is placed on a qua giang crossbeam, both ends of which rest on the wall. The highlight of the relic is concentrated in the con panel of the central bay, carved with the four sacred creatures (Dragon-Unicorn-Turtle-Phoenix); the carving art is quite elaborate and meticulous, with deep and high-relief lines strongly imbued with the Nguyen dynasty style. The central bay has a two-tier altar platform for worship objects.