+84 987699712 Zalo/Whatsapp info@namtravel.com.vn
 
Home travel guide hoa lu ancient capital: dinh & le temples

HOA LU ANCIENT CAPITAL: DINH & LE TEMPLES

You can find many unique temples in Ninh Binh especially Dinh Tien Hoang and Le Dai Hanh Temple in the very first capital of Vietnam. The Dinh and Le temples, regarded as one of the top 10 places to visit in Ninh Binh, are two extremely well-preserved national treasures that still retains a lot of Vietnamese traditional style. Here, let’s explore these splendid locations in your travel to Vietnam.
 
Things to Do in Dinh & Le Temples
Both temples are located in Trang An Landscape Complex, thus, you can contemplate the utmost beauty of Vietnamese nature. Tourists will be amazed at the limestone mountains and the vast fields and plants surrounding the places. It will be a great opportunity to take wonderful pictures of the region.
 
On the other hand, your purpose for coming is to witness the excellent creation of Vietnamese in the past. The first one is Dinh Tien Hoang Temple dedicated to the king who united the country. He was just a buffalo boy and yet, he defeated 12 generals occupied in different provinces, kind of like the daimyos in The Sengoku period (Age of Civil War) of Japanese history. After that incredible feat, he decided to become king and settled in Hoa Lu.
 
King Dinh Tien Hoang marked an independent and unification age of Vietnam resulted in the love, admiration of the people for him and the creation of Dinh Tien Hoang Temple. Although there are quite a few other destinations that worship him, Dinh Temple is the only places devoted to his entire family and generals.
 
Dinh Tien Hoang Temple has followed the strict architecture rules and also based on Feng Shui, a Chinese philosophical system of harmonizing people with the environment around. From the beginning, you will enter through Ngo Mon (Ngo Gate) to the Dinh Temple. Visitors can see the first perfect example of Vietnamese ancient temple gate with three roofs on each other. Afterward, venturing through 2 tall pillars and tourists will reach dragon yard in which a big bed with magnificent dragon carvings.
 
The main house of Dinh Temple consisting of Bai Duong, Thien Huong, and Chinh Cung. Bai Duong is for the community and has 5 rooms featuring the architecture from the 15th century. Thien Huong is an incense room in which people honor 4 pillars (or mandarins) of the Dinh dynasty.  After that, it is time for you to visit Chinh Cung, the last and most important part of the Temple where the king and his sons are worshiped.
 
From the start to the end of this destination, you may find a great number of sculptures in different shape and size. That is also the highlights of your trip to Dinh Tien Hoang Temple. There will be sculptures of imaginative animals in the past such as dragons and qilin or real animals like horses and the statues of the king, and his sons.  
 
Alongside with Dinh Temple, Le Dai Hanh Temple is one of the best ancient temples in the country. In term of architecture, Le Temple is almost the same as the other one with a few differences. Visiting this place, tourists will encounter lots of sculptures and the one-of-a-kind Hon Non Bo (the Vietnamese art of imitating the scene of nature) which is quite similar to bonsai in Japan and penjing in China. You can find Hon Non Bo of Phoenix, Tiger, Elephant and so on around the temple.
 
Like in Dinh Temple, you will contemplate the excellent sculpture of the king and his family in Chinh Cung including a statue of Queen Duong Van Nga, a special person in Vietnamese history. As tourists, you may find all the statues kind of the same, however, they had been repaired and preserved by different dynasties. Therefore, each of them has different features and style from the past. The wood sculpture is also exceptionally created by the craftsmen from the 17th century.
The Queen of Two Kings
Queen Duong Van Nga is no doubt the most popular female figure according to Vietnamese historians. She was one of the wives of King Dinh Tien Hoang at first before he and his sons were assassinated. Since the last sons of the king were too young (6 years old), he cannot rule the kingdom especially when the Chinese army invaded from the North.
 
The avoid the last thousand-year colonization in the past, the queen decided to give the crown to the commander-in-chief Le Hoan. After he defeated the invaders, he married the former queen as his queen with the new name Le Dai Hanh. As a result, there is a statue of Queen Duong Van Nga in Le Temple, but not in Dinh temple. However, the people still put the statue facing the direction to Dinh Tien Hoang Temple to show that her heart still belongs to her first husband.
 
Hopefully, NAM TRAVEL has just provided you with the most essential information you need to know before taking a trip to Hoa Lu Ancient Citadel. For more useful travel tips, feel free to check out our Ninh Binh Travel Guide!

 

Other Article

Ninh Binh

The magical Ninh Binh is located in northern Vietnam, 100km south of Hanoi and is nicknamed “Ha Long Bay on Land”. Although we had a magnificent 3-day cruise on Halong Bay, we preferred it here in Ninh Binh...
 

Hanoi

Hanoi, one of the most beautiful of the colonial Indochinese cities, is often the start or end point of a trip to Vietnam, and what a great welcome or farewell it is. Oozing with charm, Hanoi has gone through wholesale changes since Vietnam swung open its doors to tourism, but it remains true to its essential personality and is an amazing city to experience...

CUC PHUONG NATIONAL PARK - THE WORLD OF TROPICAL CREATURES

Phuong National Park is one of the must-see destinations in your Vietnam trip because of the pristine beauty of jungle forests. It is listed on top 10 national parks in Vietnam with high biodiversity and tranquil atmosphere of an uninhabited tropical area. Follow us to discover amazing things in this stunning national park!

TOP 10 BEST PLACES TO VISIT IN NINH BINH

If you want to see every beauty of Vietnam in one place, Ninh Binh is an ideal tourist destination for you. Joining Ninh Binh Tours, you will contemplate the richness of culture, history, traditions as well as remarkable nature in the region... 

Hanoi Over View

Nestled along wooded boulevards among the city’s two dozen lakes you will find architectural souvenirs left by all who conquered this great valley, from the Chinese who first came in the last millennium to the French, booted out in our own century...

Tran Quoc Pagoda

Located on a small penisula on the East side of West Lake, Tran Quoc Pagoda is regarded as the most ancient pagoda in Hanoi with its history line of more than 1,500 years. The architecture of this Buddhist center is a subtle combination between the solemn and beautiful landscape on the peaceful and quiet ambiance of West Lake’s surface...

Saint Joseph Cathedral

Saint Joseph Cathedral, located at 40 Nha Chung street, Hanoi, is a Roman Catholic cathedral with neo- gothic style, which was built about 120 years ago...

Bat Trang pottery village

Bat Trang, traditional porcelain and pottery village with history of seven centuries, is an interesting attraction in Hanoi that tourists should not ignore...

Hanoi Opera House

An essential part of Hanoi’s 000 year history, Hanoi Opera House is without doubt one of the most famous cultural and architectural monuments of Hanoi. Located on the famous August Revolution Square, Hanoi Opera House is just a few steps from Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi Old Quarter and Vietnam History Museum...

Hanoi Ancient House at 87 Ma May Street

Located within Hanoi Old Quarter, the ancient house at 87 Ma May street which was built at the late of the Twentieth century, is quite intact with typical architecture of ancient houses on Hanoi street...

Vietnam Women’s Museum

Despite being a patriarchal society, Viet Nam still reserves a special, if not sacred, place to honour Vietnamese women. Not only is October 20th is made Vietnam’s Women day but there also exists a museum dedicated to women...

Van Phuc Silk Village

Situated on the bank of Nhue River, about 10km southwest of Hanoi Old Quarter, Van Phuc silk village is renowned for its traditional weaving and premium quality silk products. At the age of more than 1,200 years, Van Phuc is proud to be the most ancient silk village which provides the best silk in Vietnam...

Hanoi Flag Tower

Hanoi Flag Tower at the age of nearly 200 years is renowned as one of the symbols of Hanoi. The construction began in 1805 and completed in 1812, the 11th year of Gia Long time, Nguyen dynasty, five years after construction time of Flag Tower in Hue...

Long Bien Bridge

If Hoan Kiem Lake with special green water and the red bridge named The Huc is the symbol of an elegant and charming ancient city; Red river and Long Bien bridge may be seen as the symbol of courageous capital in wars...

Hanoi Water Puppet Theatre

Located at 57B, Dinh Tien Hoang street, nearby Hoan Kiem Lake, Thang Long Water Puppet Theater is a familiar address for both domestic tourists and foreign ones, who want to enjoy water puppet shows and discovery the beauty of this unique Vietnam traditional art...

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is an important historical attraction of Hanoi, known for honoring the national hero: President Ho Chi Minh...

Ba Dinh square

The square adjacent to the Ho Chi Minh complex is called Ba Dinh square, where many important national historical events in modern history took place. The square was originally developed by French colony and known as Round Point Pugininer...

Vietnam History Museum

Vietnam History Museum lies silently on the back of the renowned Hanoi Opera House, at No.1 Pham Ngu Lao Street, Hoan Kiem District. This museum was built in 1926 under the name Louis Finot Museum by the Ecole Française d’Extreme-Orient and finish in 1932...

Vietnam Museum of Ethnology

This is the most recent yet probably the largest and undoubtedly the most interesting Museums in Hanoi and Vietnam. The Museum comes out of the recognition that Vietnam is a multi-ethnic country and that more attention should be paid to promote socio-cultural diversity...

Temple of literature

The Temple of Literature is about 10 minutes away from Hoan Kiem lake. It was constructed in 1070 under Ly Thanh Tong’s dynasty, first to honor Confucius and nowadays to celebrate the doctorates and high rank scholars of Vietnam. In 1076, King Ly Nhan Tong continued the work and built Quoc Tu Giam as the first university of Vietnam...

Hoan Kiem Lake

If you are about to visit Hanoi for a few days, it is very likely that you will reside somewhere near Hoan Kiem Lake. The lake is considered the center of Hanoi, not only physically but also symbolically. In fact, the more you spend time learning about the lake, the more special it becomes...

Dong Xuan market

Although located in the heart of the Old Quarters, the market is fairly young compared with the surrounding streets. It used to be an empty lot in front of Huyen Thien pagoda. Old Hanoi residents gradually developed trade activities here because of its proximity to the river, which made it convenient for transportation of goods...

5 best shopping streets of Hanoi Old Quarter

Hanoi may not be a fashion destination but there plenty of places to shop that have stock of trendy to basic clothing but with very cheap price tag. Though variety of sizes is indeed questioning, it is worth a try to check them out. Here are the 5 best places to purchase your clothes in the Old Quarter...

NAM Travel- Nam Huong Travel (2013-2024)

Hanoi head office:No 1- Lane 3- The Hien- Dan Hoa Ward- Thanh Oai District- Hanoi City- Vietnam
Hotline: +84 987699712 Zalo/Whatsapp
Tel: +84 2462 946 116 (Office)
International Tour Operator License: 01-1188/2018 TCDL- GP LHQT

Email: info@namtravel.com.vn
 

Community

 
 

Powered by NAM Travel- Nam Huong Travel (2013-2024)

© Copyright 2018 NAM Travel- Nam Huong Travel (2013-2024) - Use of this website constitutes acceptance of the NAM Travel- Nam Huong Travel (2013-2024)'s