Lai Yen Temple

Kinh Thien Temple (Kinh Thien Altar) is a temple dedicated to the Heavenly Deity (Chi Minh Dai Vuong). Legend has it that from the time the first group of inhabitants from Tien Liet (Tien Le) came down to reclaim land and establish villages, at a thatched shrine, on a quiet night when the sky was pitch black, three brilliant beams of light like three shining white silk strips suddenly descended from the sky onto the land; afterward, the water in the village pond rose in large waves. The people regarded this as the descent of the heavenly deity, a miraculous manifestation of heaven and earth, so they built a thatched shrine and combined the characters “Nhat” and “Nguyet” into the character “Minh” to name the deity for worship.

In the year of Binh Thin - 1016, King Ly Thai To, while traveling, saw that the scenery here had a mysterious and sacred beauty, stopped to visit, and conferred the title “Chi Minh Dai Vuong” on the deity. Subsequent Ly kings also conferred titles on the deity.

During the Tran dynasty, King Tran Minh Tong once came to Kinh Thien Temple to pray for offspring. In the year of Nham Than - 1312, on the occasion of the Tran court's victory over Champa, he sent Tran Quoc Chan to confer a title on the deity and sent Truong Han Sieu to compose a stele inscription praising the deity. In the temple there still remains a stele from the 13th year of Gia Long (Giap Tuat, 1814) recording the above event and a stele recording the conferral of titles on the deity by various dynasties.

Lai Yen Temple is a very large architectural complex comprising many components: a three-entrance gate, the main hall, the central shrine, and the rear shrine. The temple is located in a beautiful landscape position, with a landing above and boats below, in the center of the village, convenient for worship, sightseeing, and research. The system of columns and enclosing walls is reflected in the canal leading water from Phuong Bang down to the middle of the village and the well.