Tay Phuong Pagoda

Tay Phuong stands on a low hill west of Hanoi, three halls in line built in the eighteenth century with the deeply curved tiled roofs and openwork brick walls of that period. What it is known for is its statues: a set of wooden figures of arhats and patriarchs carved in the late eighteenth century, each with a distinct face and posture, gaunt and individual rather than idealised, and generally regarded as the finest surviving Vietnamese wood sculpture. Huy Can's poem about them, written in 1960, made them part of the national literary vocabulary. Several are designated national treasures.

What you actually see

• Three halls in line - eighteenth century, with curved tiled roofs.
• Carved wooden arhats - individual faces, gaunt rather than idealised.
• The finest Vietnamese wood sculpture - the standard judgement.
• A poem that fixed them in memory - Huy Can's, from 1960.

When to go

Year round. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The climb is a couple of hundred steps. Interiors are dark and photography of the statues may be restricted. Interpretation is in Vietnamese. The site is small.

Nearby

Thay pagoda is a few kilometres away; Hanoi is east.