Quan Thanh Temple

Quan Thanh is one of the four temples that guarded the cardinal directions of the old Thang Long capital - this one the north - and it is dedicated to Tran Vu, the Taoist deity of the north, whose statue stands inside: nearly four metres of black bronze, weighing about four tonnes, cast in 1677, with a sword resting on a turtle and a snake coiled at his feet. The bronze bell in the gate tower is of a similar period. The temple was founded under the Ly in the eleventh century and rebuilt repeatedly, and it sits at the corner of West Lake beside the causeway.

What you actually see

• A guardian temple of the north - one of the four of old Thang Long.
• A four-tonne bronze Tran Vu - cast in 1677, nearly four metres tall.
• A sword on a turtle - with a snake at the figure's feet.
• A bronze bell of the same era - in the gate tower.

When to go

Year round. An hour.

Honest expectations

It is small and a short visit. It sits on a busy road junction with constant traffic noise. Photography of the statue may be restricted. It is a working temple.

Nearby

Tran Quoc pagoda is along the causeway; the citadel is south.