But Thap Pagoda

Built in the 13th century during the Tran dynasty and located in Bac Ninh Province to the North, But Thap pagoda was honorably recognized as Special National Relic in 2013. The pagoda, rebuilt in 1647 in the Le Dynasty, is known to have a unique architecture with a combination of Vietnamese - Chinese culture and considered one of the finest pagodas in the north of Vietnam as well as Vietnam's first Buddhist center.

In 1876, King Tu Duc named this pagoda “But Thap” following a moment seeing the scenery of an impressive stone stupa heading to the sky shaping like a pen. Built based on the “Noi Cong Ngoai Quoc” architectural style, But Thap pagoda comprises 10 buildings spreading on a total area of 100 meters which covers the entrance, the bell-tower, and the house in the back. On important holidays, the main entrance is opened while on normal days, it is closed so if clients wish to visit the pagoda during this time, they should go through the small side ones. Inside the pagoda, there are about 50 statues in various sizes including Samantabhadra (Pho Hien) riding a white elephant, the Triad Buddha, Manjusri (Van Thu) on a blue lion, and the most highlight one is the masterpiece Guanyin with 1,000 arms and 1,000 eyes featuring our nation’s religion and beauty awarded National Treasure in 2012. Additionally, when setting foot on But Thap pagoda, you can see 2 white-rock towers Ton Duc (10 meters high) and Bao Nghiem (13 meters high) making the scenery here more tranquil and awesome than ever. The site also preserves and displays some precious remains aging from the 17th century consisting of the nine-floor Lotus Tower, statues, valuable donations, Bao Nghiem Tower…

But Thap pagoda festival is an annual ceremony held on the 23rd and 24th of the third lunar month with many interesting traditional culture activities dividing into 2 main parts: Ritual and outdoor activities. Some ritual activities taking place inside the pagoda can be named are incense offering ceremony, Buddha worshiping ceremony, praying earthly sacrifice ceremony. Other cultural and sports activities that attract a large number of participants to join in are table tennis, Chinese chess, pigeon drop competition, and “cheo” performance.

But Thap pagoda is only 30 kilometers far from Hanoi and the fastest, as well as most convenient transportation, is by car. If you want to combine sightseeing and sporty activity to improve your health so biking is a good choice. Other sites that can be combined with your trip to But Thap pagoda are Nom village, Phat Tich pagoda, Dau pagoda, Do temple, Dinh Bang Communal House, and some traditional handicraft villages such as Dong Ky Wood, Dai Bai Bronze, Dong Ho Painting, and Phu Lang Pottery. Travel Authentic Asia organizes lots of tours covering But Thap pagoda and other well-known sites that you can consider to book with us or just get more information about the destination: Hanoi rural cycling, Bat Trang village and But Thap pagoda, Red River Delta experience by bike, Vietnam cycling mountains and delta…

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