Repairs commence at Hanoi’s oldest pagoda

      The restoration of the ancient pagoda of Tran Quoc in Tay Ho district, Hanoi started on June 26.
Tran Quoc Pagoda, located on an islet in West Lake in Hanoi, is one of the oldest pagodas in Vietnam and a cultural symbol of Vietnamese Buddhism.
According to legend, it was built during the Nam De Dynasty (544-548). Originally, the pagoda was built adjacent to the Cai River and called Khai Quoc (Founding of the Nation). Its name was later changed to An Quoc Pagoda.
In the reign of King Le Kinh Tong (1600-1618), the river bank broke, and people removed the pagoda and rebuilt it on Ca Vang Island in the middle of West Lake (its current location) where the Ly Kings had built Thuy Hoa Hall and the Tran Dynasty had constructed Ham Nguyen Palace. King Le Hy Tong (16680-1705) changed its name to Tran Quoc.
The present pagoda still maintains a unique architectural style. At the front, there is a visitor hall leading into the interior of the pagoda. At the rear there are two corridors and a bell tower. Inside the pagoda are various beautiful statues, the most notable of which is the wooden gilded statue of Shakyamuni Buddha.
There are also stone slab steles, the oldest of which was erected in 1639, on which Dr. Nguyen Xuan Chinh writes the history of the major repairs to this pagoda in that very year. There is a luxuriant Bo tree in the pagoda's current courtyard that was presented by the President of India Razendia Prasat, who paid a visit to the pagoda in 1959.
Tran Quoc Pagoda has been repaired several times, most recently in 2001. The pagoda has recently become seriously dilapidated, with its gate and corridor damaged and some timber-made objects, statues and steles threatened because of weather and time. The pagoda often floods during heavy rains, sometimes up to 50cm for several days.
Tay Ho district decided to spend around 160 billion dong for the restoration. The district is calling for organisations and individuals to contribute to the restoration.