Am Cay De Pagoda in Hanoi

Am Cay De Pagoda (Thanh Ninh Tu) is located at No 2 Le Truc Street (Ba Dinh district), 3km west of Sword Lake. Built in 1031 it was one of 95 famous pagodas at that time. The pagoda is also dedicated to Tran Hung Dao, a national hero who led the fighting against the Mongol invaders in the 13^th century. It was constructed on a high plot of land with a lot of old trees. The current pagoda has a portico with three entrances, a courtyard, Ngoc Thanh temple and a three- treasure altar. The portico has three small gates, above which are four small roofs. Ngoc Thanh temple faces north, over looking the courtyard. The pagoda’s architecture is in the form of a handle of a mallet. Facing southeast, the pagoda includes a five-compartment ceremonial hall and a three-ompartment rear sanctuary. The trusses are made in many different forms and engraved with designs of flowers and the four sacred animals.

The pagoda has 35 statues, three pairs of ancient pottery jars, a pair of small ceramic jars covered with white enamel and blue paintings, four dragon thrones, five parallel sentences, one pen-brush container and one bronze bell cast in 1797.