QUORA.

Vũ Song Vũ · Lives in Ho Chi Minh City7yr

Unlike other Asian nations, Vietnam doesn’t have many large or massive temples and pagodas. As Tim Tran and others have already stated, Vietnamese culture is heavily influenced by Confucianism. However, it’s wrong to say that Vietnam has NO HISTORICAL SITES IN THE FORM OF TEMPLE. Just because we didn’t build it big doesn’t mean we own none. Vietnamese believe in the harmony of nature so every shrine, temple and pagoda is always built within nature like on mountain, by the river/stream, etc. Furthermore, most of Vietnamese religious building (except for Christianity) tend to bend Buddhism, Taoism and indigenous religions together so they are considered highly sacred, seeking spirituality rather than emphasising on the architecture and size. Most of Vietnamese temples are small YET SUBTLE in terms of the decorating. Below are some of my favourite temples and pagodas.

Chùa Hương (Perfume Pagoda)

To get to Perfume Pagoda, you must sail through this beautiful stream

Chùa Một Cột (One Pillar Pagoda)

Chùa Đồng (Dong/Copper Pagoda) built at 1068m above sea level

Keo Pagoda, built around 400 years ago, still in its best preservation condition

Ngọc Sơn Temple

Interior in an unknown shrine

P/s: Not a temple but this is Phát Diệm Cathedral, one of the most beautiful cathedral I’ve ever seen, bending Vietnamese traditional architecture and Western Christian architecture, built over 100 years ago.

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