Xuan Truong district People’s Committee in Nam Dinh province has held a ceremony to receive the Prime Minister’s certificate of merit recognising Keo pagoda in Hanh Thien village, Xuan Hong commune as a special national relic site.
A festival at Keo Paogda Keo pagoda is one of ancient pagodas in Vietnam with over 400-year-old architecture which is well preserved and almost intact. Iaddition to its architectural beauty, the pagoda is home to numerous valuable artifacts from the 17th century under Hau Le dynasty, including reading tables, altars, statues, bells, steles, horizontal lacquered boards and parallel texts and books. The existence of Keo pagoda, along with Dien Phuc pagoda in Xuan Ninh commune, Xuan Truong district and Chuong Son tower pagoda in Yen Loi commune, Y Yen district, showed that Nam Dinh province was a major religious centre of the country under the Ly dynasty. The Keo Pagoda Festival in Nam Dinh province takes place annually from the tenth to sixteenth days of the ninth lunar month. Unique activities of the festival are the boat race with a crew of 10 and a large scale procession. The recognition of Keo Pagoda in Nam Dinh as a special national relic site is expected to contribute to improving the historical, cultural and architectural values of this old pagoda in the northern region. The pagoda boasts massive architecture, consisting of 13 buildings with 121 rooms. There is a clear, blue lake in front of the pagoda.
