Giac Lam Pagoda

Giac Lam was founded in 1744 and is the oldest pagoda in what is now Ho Chi Minh City, built in the southern style with a low tiled roof, ceramic ornament on the ridges, and a dark interior of ironwood columns hung with carved and gilded panels. The main hall holds well over a hundred wooden statues, many of them eighteenth and nineteenth century, and the walls carry parallel sentences carved in Chinese characters. A bodhi tree in the courtyard was given by a Sri Lankan monk in 1953, and a seven-storey stupa built later stands beside the halls. It is a working pagoda in a residential district.

Background

The temple was founded in the spring of 1744 by Lý Thụy Long, who came from Minh Hương, while Nguyễn Phúc Khoát led the Nguyễn Lords. It stands on Cẩm Sơn at 565 Lạc Long Quân Street. Thích Viên Quang became abbot in 1772 and had it wholly rebuilt between 1799 and 1804, and a second full rebuilding followed from 1906 until 1909. The main building measures 65 m by 22 m and holds a ceremonial hall, a dharma preaching hall and a meal hall, with 86 carved phrases in gold paint running across its 98 pillars. The stupa, begun in 1970 to plans by Vĩnh Hoằng, stands 32 m high and opened on June 17, 1994.

Source: Wikipedia, "Giác Lâm Temple"

What you'll find

• Founded in 1744 - the city's oldest pagoda.
• Over a hundred wooden statues - many eighteenth and nineteenth century.
• Ironwood columns and carved panels - the southern interior style.
• A bodhi tree given in 1953 - by a Sri Lankan monk.

When to go

Year round. An hour.

Before you go

It is out of the centre and needs a taxi. Interiors are dark and photography may be restricted. It is a working pagoda rather than a museum. The stupa is a modern addition.

Nearby

Tan Son Nhat airport is close; District 1 is south-east.

Key facts