Buzz
After centuries, Đô Temple witnessed a peculiar natural phenomenon as a golden dragon-shaped cloud streaked across the sky towards Hanoi, just as the villagers began the ritual procession of 'Linh bai Ly Thai To and the Capital Relocation to Thang Long' following ancient customs.
The entrance to the inner citadel of the temple is the Five Dragon Gate, adorned with two gate wings carved with five dragons. Whenever the gate opens, the five dragons soar high into the air. The central area of Đô Temple is the main hall, housing the altar of King Ly Thai To, flanked by two guardian cranes.
On either side of the main gate inside Đô Temple, the left side bears the scroll 'Capital Relocation Edict' of King Ly Thai To, containing exactly 214 characters, corresponding to the 214 years of rule of the 8 kings of the Ly dynasty, an unexpected coincidence. On the right side is the poem – the first declaration of independence in our country 'Nam quoc son ha' by Ly Thuong Kiet.
The 'Capital Relocation Edict' scroll, standing at a height of 3.5 meters, width over 8 meters, is made of Bat Trang pottery. This is the largest pottery scroll in Vietnam.
The center of the inner citadel is also the main hall. The main hall consists of an octagonal pavilion with 3 spacious roofs covering up to 70 m². Behind the main hall is the imperial palace spanning 220 square meters, housing the royal throne, offerings, and statues of the 8 kings. Within the temple's interior, there are also the sedan chair house, the ante-house, the house for ceremonial palanquins, and the house for horse offerings.
The outer area of Đô Temple includes the square house, the main altar house, the warehouse, the guest house, and the temple of Queen Ba (honoring Ly Chieu Hoang). On either side, there are temples dedicated to exemplary literary and martial officials. The literary house lies to the left of the inner citadel, honoring To Hien Thanh and Ly Dao Thanh. The martial house lies to the right of the inner citadel, honoring Le Phung Hieu, Ly Thuong Kiet, and Dao Cam Moc.
On the eastern side of the temple stands a stele pavilion called the 'Ancient Law Stele Pavilion'. The stone stele is 190 cm tall, 103 cm wide, and 17 cm thick, carved in 1605. It depicts a pair of dragons flanking a crescent moon, surrounded by images of radiance. The stele bears 35 lines of Chinese characters, interspersed with some Nom characters, totaling 1,500 characters.
In front of the temple is a water pavilion built on a crescent-shaped lake, spanning 5 bays, where ancient officials used to watch water puppet performances. The ancient water pavilion was chosen by the Indochina Bank to be depicted on the five dong banknote. Since 2003, the state has chosen to depict the water pavilion on the metal coin worth 1000 dong.
To commemorate the Ly dynasty and strengthen the unity of the village community, on the 14th, 15th, and 16th days of the third lunar month every year, Đình Bảng holds the Đô Temple festival. In March 2015, along with the tomb complex, Đô Temple was designated as a Special National Monument.
Source: Mytour
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Reference: Travel Guide by Mytour
Traveler.comDecember 8, 2022
