Rare details and many precious antiques at the temple over 370 years old

(Dan Tri) - Quan Am Pagoda is over 370 years old, the oldest Buddhist temple in Hoi An. To this day, the pagoda still preserves many precious artifacts.

Quan Am Buddha Temple, also known as Minh Huong Buddha Temple, located on Nguyen Hue Street, Hoi An Ward, Da Nang City, is considered one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Hoi An ancient town.

According to the horizontal plaque in the main hall, the pagoda was built in 1653, coinciding with the formation period of Hoi An ancient town. In 1991, the pagoda was recognized as a national historical and cultural relic.

Quan Am Pagoda is considered one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Hoi An (Photo: Ngo Linh).

The unique feature of the temple's architecture is that the main gate is not in the middle but on the right, a rare detail in temples in Hoi An. Through the gate is a small courtyard with a rockery and green trees, creating a buffer space leading to the main hall.

The entire structure was built in the shape of the letter "Nhat", with the main hall consisting of two 3-room houses, in which the middle room is almost twice as large as the 2 side rooms. The wooden structures are elaborately carved, especially the flower supporting the porch beams, which are carved with lotus flowers, "lions playing in front" and dragon-shaped vines.

The architectural highlight of the pagoda is the wooden facade wall system with a rare upper-slat and lower-slat door. The middle room has a six-panel door, meticulously carved with themes of dragons, dragon horses, tigers, turtles, birds, and pine trees.

The elaborately carved wooden door with upper and lower panels is the highlight of the relic (Photo: Ngo Linh).

The two side rooms have four-panel doors, the main one is engraved with the word Tho, the small one is engraved with eight precious stones, lotus flowers... Researchers consider this to be one of the most beautiful and intact sets of doors remaining in Hoi An.

According to the Hoi An World Cultural Heritage Conservation Center, the pagoda still preserves two rare ancient incense altars.

The altar in the middle compartment has a "kneeling" shaped pedestal with elaborate carvings; the altar in the right compartment is smaller in size, gilded with gold, and has high artistic value.

Ancient statues also contribute to the value of the pagoda, including a bronze-painted wooden statue of Amitabha Buddha sitting on a lotus pedestal, a wooden statue of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara standing on a lotus pedestal holding a vase of pure water, and a painted metal statue of Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta.

The pagoda still preserves many ancient Buddha statues and precious incense altars (Photo: Ngo Linh).

The pagoda used to house a set of 6 paintings of "Eighteen Arhats" (now only 5 remain). The original is kept at the Hoi An World Heritage Conservation Center, the paintings hanging in the pagoda are copies.

Mr. Pham Phu Ngoc, Deputy Director of the Hoi An World Cultural Heritage Conservation Center, said the existence of the pagoda is proof of the cultural and religious exchange process of the Hoi An trading port.

Quan Am Pagoda carries a long history with unique cultural and architectural values, one of the important Buddhist architectural relics, contributing to the common value of Hoi An Buddhist heritage and Hoi An ancient town.

Today, the relic is an important religious site for local people. Along with Quan Cong Temple, the pagoda is regularly open to serve local people and tourists from near and far for worship and sightseeing.

In addition to offering incense and fruits on the 15th and 1st of every month, the pagoda also has two major holidays in the year: the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara's birthday (February 19th of the lunar calendar) and the Lantern Festival (January 16th). Many local people and people from neighboring areas come to offer incense and visit the pagoda on these two occasions.

“The fact that a Buddhist temple was established right in a densely populated residential area, near the river and later near the market is a unique phenomenon. On the one hand, it reflects the closeness of the religious community to everyday life, on the other hand, it reflects that Minh Huong Hoi An village had all the cultural institutions for community activities among the residents when the Nguyen lords allowed them to settle in Hoi An,” Mr. Ngoc shared.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/cac-chi-tiet-hiem-gap-va-nhieu-co-vat-quy-tai-ngoi-chua-hon-370-tuoi-20250912162141639.htm