Thay Pagoda
A pagoda with a water puppet stage built out over its pond, and the monk who is said to have invented the form.
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Chua Thay stands below Sai Son hill west of Hanoi and is associated with Tu Dao Hanh, an eleventh century monk who is credited in tradition with founding water puppetry - the northern Vietnamese form in which puppets are worked from behind a screen by puppeteers standing waist-deep in water. A small pavilion, the Thuy Dinh, stands out in the pagoda's pond and is the stage for it, used at the festival. Two covered bridges built in the seventeenth century cross to the shore. Caves and shrines run up the hill behind, and the pagoda holds a statue of Tu Dao Hanh with an articulated body.
What you actually see
- A puppet stage in the pond - the Thuy Dinh pavilion.
- Tu Dao Hanh - the monk credited with founding water puppetry.
- Two seventeenth century covered bridges - crossing to the shore.
- Caves and shrines up the hill - behind the pagoda.
When to go
Year round; the festival falls in the third lunar month. Half a day.
Honest expectations
Puppet performances happen at the festival and on arranged occasions, not daily. The hill paths are steep and slippery. It is very busy on festival days. Some structures have been heavily restored.
Nearby
Tay Phuong pagoda is a few kilometres away; Hanoi is east.
What to pack for Thay Pagoda
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.