Dieu De Pagoda: One of the Oldest Buddhist Temple in Hue

Dieu De Pagoda is located on the bank of Ho Thanh River (Gia Hoi River, or Dong Ba River), at 100B Bach Dang Street, near Gia Hoi Bridge. Dieu De Pagoda has an important position in the history of Buddhism in Hue.

• Location: 100B Bach Dang Street, Hue City, Vietnam
• Opening Hours: Daily from 7.00AM - 7.30PM; Mon - Sun
• Entrance Fee: Free of Charge
• Dress Code: Decent Cloths to cover your Knees & Shoulders

• History of Dieu De Pagoda:

Dieu De Pagoda - the imperial temple under the Nguyen Dynasty, is located at 110 Bach Dang Street, Hue City. Dieu De Pagoda was formerly a famous garden and was the place where Prince Mien Tong, son of King Minh Mang was born, later succeeded his father, named Thieu Tri.

The temple was built by King Thieu Tri in 1844 (the year of Giap Thin, when Thieu Tri was four years old), the wooden structure follows the typical royal architecture of the Nguyen dynasty - which developed from the Hue Traditional house architecture.

The work has undergone many restorations, the scale later is not equal to the original, but still retains the old architectural style. In 1885, when King Ham Nghi was defeated the French and fled the capital to Quang Tri Province, the palace was occupied by the French. The Nam Trieu government had to reside and work here. Houses were requisitioned for a variety of purposes: Tri Tue Tinh Xa was the office of Thua Thien Hue Gorvernment, Tuong Tu That became a treasury and a coin-making department, one of the monasteries turned into a jail and another became an important station.

In 1887, most of the temple's buildings were demolished and they were only restored in the 20th century. In the 1960s, Dieu De Pagoda was the starting place of the procession of the Buddha Statue, with floats and tens of thousands of Buddhists from Hue City coming to Tu Dam Pagoda on the occasion of Buddha's Birthday every year.

In the latest restoration of the original architecture, the main hall was restored with the old architecture recorded by the Chau Ban of the Nguyen Dynasty in the 18th year of Thanh Thai (1906), then in the 2nd year of Khai Dinh (1917), there was the restoration of the bell tower, the drum floor, and citadel.

From 2018, Dieu De Pagoda was started with big scale restoration with a big new and spacious building for praying and chanting of Monks and Local. During the restoration of Dieu De Pagoda, instead of demolishing the old main old hall, the pagoda hired a "genius" Nguyen Van Cu - Director of Nguyen Van Cu Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City) moved back 18m to preserve the painting "Long Van Khe Hoi" painted on the ceiling. According to a representative of Dieu De Pagoda, the relocation of the old main hall is to protect the mural "Long Van Khe Hoi Painting" as well as the historical values of the temple. After moving to a new location, this old main hall will be restored according to the ability of the temple to make a ancestral hall and a part for living space.

Today the old splendor is only found in the main hall, in the large and beautiful galleries, which are very beautiful, hanging down from the ceiling, in decorative patterns on the ceiling and paintings of Buddha's life. Nowaday, Dieu De Pagoda are being rebuilt with bigger and larger area. It is being reinforced the old main hall, changed its design, moved the location of the new main hall forward.

See Also:

• Best Things to Do & See in Hue Imperial City
• Best Hue Local Food You Should Not Miss

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