Dia Tang Phi Lai Pagoda

The pagoda at Ninh Trung is old - a foundation going back a thousand years by local account - but it had fallen almost entirely to ruin, and what visitors see is a restoration begun in 2015 under a young abbot who took a particular approach: the courtyards were laid with white gravel raked in patterns, the halls kept plain, and the whole site organised around quiet, with a rule against loud talk and an emphasis on sitting rather than photographing. That is a deliberate contrast with the large new pagoda complexes elsewhere in the region, and it has made the place unexpectedly popular.

Highlights

• Raked white gravel courtyards - unusual in a Vietnamese pagoda.
• Plain halls - kept deliberately unornamented.
• A restoration from 2015 - on an old and ruined foundation.
• A rule of quiet - the point of the whole arrangement.

When to go

Year round; weekdays are quietest. Half a day.

Things to know

The quiet is the attraction and is undermined by weekend crowds who come to photograph it. Almost everything is recent construction. It is in a rural village with no services. Dress and behaviour rules are enforced.

Nearby

Tam Chuc is north; Phu Ly and the road to Ninh Binh are close.