Bai Dinh Pagoda in HaNoi is a spiritual landscape located in the Bai Dinh – Trang An eco-tourism area complex with a history of more than 1000 years, associated with the land of many feudal dynasties from the Dinh and Tien Le dynasties to the Ly Dynasty. The pagoda has become a famous spiritual landscape in the land of Ninh Binh. Considered as the largest complex of Buddhist pagodas in Vietnam as well as owner to many other records of country, South East Asia and Asia.
Bai Dinh Pagoda is a complex of pagodas located on Bai Dinh mountain in Gia Sinh commune, Gia Vien district, 5 km northwest of Hoa Lu ancient capital and 12 km from Ninh Binh city. Bai Dinh Pagoda has an area of 539 hectares, which includes 27 hectares of the old Bai Dinh pagoda area and 80 hectares of the new Bai Dinh pagoda area.
Bai Dinh mountain is the starting point of the Hoa Lu limestone formation in the northwest and is also part of the foothills of the Himalayas, where Buddhism originated. The mountains in this system have an average height of 70-170m.
Bai Dinh Pagoda Mountain is 200m high and is located between a half-mountain, half-plain area covering nearly 150,000 square meters. A new Bai Dinh Pagoda was built next to the old one, facing southeast. This pagoda covers an area of 700 hectares and is located on Ba Rau hills, near the Hoang Long river. The structures of Bai Dinh Pagoda complex are big, bold, and solemn, deeply imbued with Vietnamese architecture. The complex is arranged in five layers upwards, including a temple’s inner Three Entrance Gate, a bell tower, a temple dedicated to Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, Phap Chu Temple devoted to the Shakyamuni Buddha, and Tam The Temple dedicated to Buddha.
History of Bai Dinh Pagoda
The name of Bai Dinh Pagoda has the meaning of heading to Dinh Mountain, where the majestic events in Vietnamese history took place such as King Dinh Tien Hoang De set up the altar to pray for good weather; or later, King Quang Trung chose as a flag ceremony to encourage soldiers before going to Thang Long to destroy the Qing army. In the 16th century, Dinh Mountain was the disputed area between the two feudal groups Le – Trinh and the Mac dynasty, when the Mac government only controlled the territory from Ninh Binh backwards. During the resistance war, Bai Dinh was also a revolutionary relic of the Quynh Luu war zone, where the leaders of the Communist Party of Vietnam propagated the revolution to the people.
As a complex of pagodas, today’s Bai Dinh Pagoda includes the ancient pagoda and new pagoda built in 2003.
The ancient Bai Dinh Pagoda is now located about 800m south of Tam The Hall of the new pagoda. Up to 300-step stairway access, this quiet shrine houses a main prayer hall and natural caves, where locals pray to Buddha and mountain spirits such as Genie Cao Son and Saint Nguyen. In 1997, the ancient pagoda was recognized as a national historical – cultural – revolutionary relic.
The Three Entrance Gate features a three-layer curved roof, covered with glazed dark brown tiles produced in Bat Trang pottery village. Inside, the Three Entrance Gate houses two statues of Lokapalas (Ho Phap), each of which is 5m high and weighs 12 tonnes. The gate is supported by four wooden pillars, each of which is 13.85m high and 0.85m in diameter.
This sacred complex will impress any visitor from the first sight with its majestic and magnificent architecture, as well as its unique scenery. The pagoda mainly uses locally available materials, such as Ninh Binh green stone, quartet wood, and dark brown Bat Trang glazed tiles. The details of the pagoda’s architectural decorations also bear the imprint of Vietnamese famous craft villages, such as Y Yen casting bronze, Ninh Van carving stone, Phu Loc carpentry, and Ninh Hai embroidery.
Explore Bai Dinh pagoda complex in Ninh Binh
Ancient Bai Dinh Pagoda
Temple of Saint Nguyen: The temple is an architectural element of the Bai Dinh Pagoda complex built in the “mountain looks at the river” position. Inside the temple, there is a statue of Zen master Nguyen Minh Khong, who was a famous doctor known for dispensing medicine to help people. Additionally, he is also respected as the ancestor of bronze casting.
Light Cave, Dark Cave: To reach the Bright and Dark caves, visitors must climb 300 steps to reach the Tam Quan gate of Bai Dinh Pagoda. The Bright cave is a place for worshiping God and Buddha, and it is also known as Sang Cave because it has enough natural light. The cave is approximately 25 meters deep, 15 meters wide, and over 2 meters high.
Well Ngoc: Well Ngoc has a diameter of nearly 30m, a depth of 6m, an area of about 6000m2 and has four corners with 4 octagonal floors. According to legend, the water in Ngoc Well was used by Zen Master Nguyen Minh to cure the king and the people. The well is recorded in Vietnam’s record with a very unique jade green color.
The Stele House of Bai Dinh Pagoda in Ninh Binh: The stele house of the pagoda has 55 compartments, and the names on the steles are of people who donated to build the temple. The area is divided into three sections, which are the West, East, and South, with 18 compartments on each side. Each compartment features a stone stele on the back of a stone turtle, with the stele being 2.9m high, 1.45m wide, and 0.4m thick, while the stone turtle has a body width of 1.7m, 0.97m thickness, and 2.95m height. The stone stele is placed in the middle on the highest pedestal with a size of 6.9m by 3.5m in width and 0.6m in thickness.
Bai Dinh Pagoda
Bai Dinh Bell Tower: The Bell Tower is built of reinforced concrete, modeled after ancient architecture and imitates wood. Inside the Bell Tower, there is a bronze bell weighing up to 36 tons, which is the largest in Vietnam. The bell is carved with many ancient Chinese characters and a vivid dragon shape.
Corridor with Arhat Statues: The Arhat corridor includes 234 compartments that connect the two ends of Tam Quan. This work has a length of up to 1052m and consists of 500 statues of Arhats made from monolithic green stone, each weighing about 4 tons.
The corridor with Arhat Statues is recognized as the longest corridor of its type in Asia.
Maitreya Buddha Statue: The Maitreya Buddha statue, which is the largest statue in Vietnam, weighs about 80 tons and is 10m high. It is located on a high hill, and standing here, visitors can admire the panoramic view of Bai Dinh pagoda from below.
Bai Dinh pagoda stupa: The stupa is built with 13 floors and has a height of 100m. Inside, there is an elevator and 72 climbing stairs. This is where the Buddha relics from India and Burma are kept. It is the tallest stupa in Southeast Asia.
In addition, there are some more important sites in the new pagoda for your look, such as Stone House consisting of 55 compartments, each of them comprises on stone with 2.9m high, 1.45m wide and 0.40m thick placed on a stone turtle with 2.95m long, 1.70m wide and 0.97m thick; or Bodhi Tree Garden which is recognized with the largest number of Bodhi trees in Vietnam (100 bodhi trees extracted from Indian).
When is the best time to visit Bai Dinh pagoda?
From January to March of the lunar calendar in the spring, the weather here is extremely warm, making it the best time to visit Bai Dinh Trang An. You can combine spring sightseeing with a pagoda ceremony to pray for good luck, and participate in major festivals in both Trang An and Bai Dinh.
How to get to Bai Dinh pagoda?
Bai Dinh Pagoda Complex is located about 12km from Hoa Lu ancient capital, 25km from Ninh Binh City or 95km from Hanoi.
Within the centre of Ninh Binh, you can easily take motorbike, scooter, taxi or even bicycles to reach the site.
By motorbike is a cost-effective way to travel to Ninh Binh. You can actively travel to Ninh Binh by motorbike, moving along National Highway 1A to the city center and then following the signposts to Bai Dinh.
To get to Ninh Binh from Hanoi, you can catch a bus from Giap Bat or My Dinh bus stations. Once you arrive at Ninh Binh bus station, you can then take a bus or taxi to the Bai Dinh pagoda area.
By train, you can board a train from Hanoi and get off at Ninh Binh station. From there, you can take a bus or taxi to Bai Dinh.
The Bai Dinh pagoda complex in Ninh Binh is a must-visit destination for those who want to explore the spiritual tourism area. It not only embodies the teachings of Buddhism but also boasts majestic, poetic, and ancient scenery. I wish you a happy and safe trip!
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