Thien Mu Pagoda

Thien Mu was founded in 1601, early in the Nguyen family's rule of the south, and its tower has become the shorthand image of Hue. The Phuoc Duyen tower, added in the 1840s, is octagonal and seven storeys high, each level once holding a gilded Buddha. Around it stand the working parts of a monastery: a triple gate, a hall with a large seated Buddha, a bronze bell cast in the early eighteenth century, and a stele carried on a marble tortoise. Behind, past a courtyard of frangipani and bonsai, monks live and study in buildings closed to visitors. The bluff gives a long view up and down the river.

History

The temple was built in 1601 on the order of the first Nguyễn lord, Nguyễn Hoàng, after he heard the legend of an old woman, the Celestial Lady, who had foretold that a lord would build a pagoda on this hill to pray for the country; the goddess is an adaptation of the Cham goddess Po Nagar. Nguyễn Phúc Tần enlarged it in 1665, the Chinese Zen master Shi Da Shan came in 1695 at the lords' invitation and served as abbot, in 1710 Lord Nguyễn Phúc Chu had a bell of 3,285 kg cast, said to be heard 10 km away, and in 1714 he carried out the largest building campaign in its history, adding the triple gate, halls, sutra towers and bell and drum towers (Wikipedia, Thiên Mụ Temple).

What you'll find

• Phuoc Duyen tower - the seven-storey octagonal brick tower of the 1840s above the river.
• The great bell - a bronze bell cast in the early eighteenth century, housed in its own pavilion.
• The stele tortoise - an inscribed stone slab carried on the back of a marble tortoise.
• The river terrace - the view over the Perfume River from the steps below the tower.

When to go

February to April is the driest window in a famously wet city. Early morning is calm and cool, and chanting from the main hall carries across the courtyards; by mid-morning the dragon boats unload and the terrace fills. Cycling out along the river bank takes about twenty minutes from the centre. An hour covers the site comfortably.

Before you go

It is smaller than photographs suggest and the tower cannot be climbed, so a visit is a lap of the courtyards. Boat groups arrive together and the terrace becomes crowded and loud. Hawkers work the steps and the car park. The monastery buildings behind are private, which limits how far you can walk, and shoulders and knees need covering.

Nearby

The Imperial City lies downstream and the royal tombs further up the valley.

Key facts