Tay An Pagoda, Chua Doc

Situated at the foot of the 230 meter tall Sam Mountain and six kilometers to the west of the town of Chau Doc, lies the pagoda of Tay An. With a mixture of both Vietnamese and Indian architectural styles, the pagoda was constructed in 1847 and had an extensive upgrade in 1958.

Legend says that one night, a local politician named Doan Uan could not fall asleep. He walked to a guard tower in An Giang Castle, located in Chau Doc town, and looked up into the sky. He saw a cloud of five colors rising from the base of the Sam Mountain, and inside the cloud was a Bodhisattva with a holy appearance. Behind the Bodhisattva were male and female believers singing prayers for a bountiful rice crop. Soon thereafter, a pagoda with brick walls, green stone floors and red tiles was constructed, facing east in honor of the vision and with the hopes of making it come true.

The front of the pagoda with its oval dome was designed in a style similar to Indian temples. However, the interior of the pagoda follows the style of traditional Vietnamese Buddhist pagodas. Upon entering the pagoda visitors see a large statue called the Mother Holding Child Statue, as well as two large statues of elephants. In the Western Corridor are two statues of the Goddess of Mercy and inside the corridor are statues of a deity known as A Di Da. The pagoda’s Dai Hong Bell was made of gold and copper during Tu Duc’s reign and is now over 100 years old. More than 100 other statues are found throughout the pagoda. Rooms for monks are located at the back of the pagoda.