Chuong Pagoda has been described by journalist Trinh Nhu Tau as the most beautiful pagoda in Hung Yen Province. It is one in a chain of cultural and religious heritage sites that still exist in Hung Yen, a province once famous as ranking only second to the capital city of the north.
Chuong Pagoda is situated in Nhan Duc village, Hien Nam commune, Hung Yen province. Kim Chung tu is Chuong Pagoda's name in Chinese scripts. It was built in the Le dynasty (the 15th century) and was restored in 1707. After the restoration, Chuong Pagoda had a common architecture of Vietnamese pagodas built in the post-Le period. In 1992, the pagoda is recognized as a national cultural - historical relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information and has become a destination that travelers must visit when coming to Hien Street.
The layout is a unique beauty of Chuong Pagoda's architecture. The pagoda has a well-proportioned and harmonious layout. Next to the three-door entrance, which has two storeys and eight roofs, is a stone bridge and a yard, then the front anteroom, the premiere sanctum and the house worshipping the ancestors and the Mother's house.
Before entering the pagoda, people going on a pilgrimage have to step over the three-door temple gate. The main gate in the middle which is the highest and largest one is closed all the year, except some occasions like the first and fifteenth days of lunar months and Tet holidays. By contrast, the two other gates are opened frequently for pilgrims. After the gates are the three spans of the green stone bridge crossing the "dragon's eye" pond. Following is the path called "the only right path" leading to the front anteroom house.
The front anteroom house has five compartments and two lean-tos, with lotus engraved joints in wooden architecture, linking with the premiere sanctum through a passage.
The premiere sanctum also has five compartments and two lean-tos, with a system of statues arranged unusually variously along with profound meanings of each line of statues and each individual statue including three Buddhas incarnating the past, the present and the future; the Amida Nyorai; Manjusri and Visvabhadhra Bodhisattvas, a sculpture of nine dragons watering a Buddha (Cuu Long), eight statues of Kim Cuong statues, 18 Arahats and four Bodhisattvas. All the statues were carved with skillful features, sitting in laid-back positions. Their faces feature different gestures.
In the west and east, two rows of corridors which are simply designed link the front anteroom with the Mother's house.
Chuong Pagoda also has the "King of Hell's Seven Court Halls" relievo that features the scene the King of Hell punishing evils. There are also two Buddha caves depicting the Buddha's process of successfully leading a religious life.
Nowadays, Chuong Pagoda still preserved some architectural articles and displayed items with high value such as. Firstly, there is a stone bridge and a stone shrine made in 1702. In addition, a big stone stele which is 1.65m high and 1.1m wide, was erected in 1717 under the King Vinh Thinh's reign, and has two sides: the front side describes the beautiful scenery of Pho Hien (former name of Hung Yen) and the back side with the words "Nhan Duc co tich truyen" (i.e. Nhan Duc's legend imparted) records the names of people who restored and contributed for the pagoda, including some Chinese persons. And the last ones are a long musical stone (similar function with bell but has flat surface) which is 1.46m long and 0.66m high and a brass bell with the height of 1.28m.
Every year, on the occasion of the Buddha's birthday in spring, a birthday party is held in Chuong Pagoda which attracts lots of locals and foreign tourists and the pagoda has become one of the most attractive tourist destinations in the province for both domestic and foreign visitors./.
