Keo Pagoda

Chua Keo in Thai Binh was rebuilt in 1632 after floods destroyed the earlier pagoda, and what survives is one of the most complete seventeenth century timber complexes in Vietnam - over a hundred structures on the original plan, with courtyards, ponds and halls in sequence. Its bell tower is the piece everyone photographs: three storeys of ironwood, about eleven metres, jointed and pegged with no metal fastenings, carrying bells and a set of carved brackets. The pagoda honours both the Buddha and the monk Khong Lo, an eleventh century figure credited with healing a king. The autumn festival includes boat races on the pond.

What's there

• A complex rebuilt in 1632 - over a hundred structures on the old plan.
• A three-storey ironwood bell tower - jointed and pegged, no metal.
• Halls and ponds in sequence - the full pagoda layout preserved.
• Autumn boat races - part of the ninth lunar month festival.

When to go

Year round; the autumn festival is in the ninth lunar month. Half a day.

Practical notes

Thai Binh is off the usual routes and takes a couple of hours from Hanoi. Interpretation is in Vietnamese. Interiors are dark. The festival days are crowded.

Nearby

Thai Binh city is north-east; Nam Dinh and the delta are north.

Key facts