Bai Dinh Pagoda, Ninh Binh

Bai Dinh Pagoda is a spiritual beauty located in Bai Dinh – Trang An eco-tourism complex with a history of more than 1000 years old attached to the land of many feudal dynasties from Dinh and Tien Le houses. The Ly Dynasty. Discover the experiences of Bai Dinh Pagoda – the spiritual beauty in Ninh Binh.

The entrance is free but the electric car is cost 30,000vnd per person per way. This place is very huge so if you do not have a whole day here or you are not stamina readily person, you can always opt for the electric car. If you would like to add extra knowledge about this pagoda, you can always opt for getting a local tour guide in your tour. They have English speaking tour guide but they have limited Chinese, Korean and French speaking tour guide. The price is 300,000vnd per group.

The old Bai Dinh pagoda is located on the western slope of Dinh mountain and nestles in quiet forest . The pagoda houses an ancestor-worshiping house in the centre, Bright cave  on the right hand side which worships the Buddha , the small temple worshiping Genie Cao Son. 

In addition, on the left hand side of the pagoda is another temple worshiping Saint Nguyen and next to it is Dark cave which worships the Fairy. With fanciful scenery and quiet atmosphere , the pagoda will make visitors feel likely to live in fairy land and they find  peace in their minds.

Besides, visitors can explore many other grottoes and caves like Fairy cave with seven smaller ones or cave of Ba Chua Thuong Ngan( The goddess of forests). In these caves and grottoes, there are a large variety of magnificent stalactites and stalagmites with various strange shapes and sizes that will invoke the imagination of visitors.

The original Bai Đính pagoda is located in the foothills some 800 meters from the new temple. Ascending a series of over 300 stone steps, the path passes under an ornamental gate to reach the entrance. The temple itself is located in a series of small caves on the mountainside. Along with Buddhist deities, natural spirits of the mountains are also venerated.

Bai Dinh pagoda is a large population known as many records such as: the largest pagoda of Vietnam, the biggest gold - plated copper of Asia and the longest lobby in Asia. The pagoda is located at the western of the ancient capital Hoa Lu, belonging to Gia Sinh commune, Ninh Binh. It is far about 15 kilometers from Ninh Binh province and 95 kilometers from Hanoi. Bai Dinh Pagoda population has the area of 539 hectares including 27 hectares of ancient Bai Dinh pagoda, 80 hectares of new Bai Dinh area.

More than 1000 years ago, in Ninh Binh, there have 3 dynasties: Dinh, Tien Le, Ly. Three dynasties are very interested in Buddhism and Buddhism and used Buddhism as the state religion so that in Ninh Binh, there has many ancient pagodas, including Bai Dinh pagoda in the Dinh Mountain.

All materials are collected from the local area and neighboring provinces. To build the pagoda requires about five hundred craftsmen and many groups of workers from famous traditional craft villages such as  Phu Loc wood making the village, Ninh Van stone carving village, Y Yen bronze casting village, Van Lam embroidery village and so on. Such people used Vietnamese materials, for instance, the green stone of Ninh Binh or ceramic tiles of Bat Trang to create Vietnamese features for the architecture of  Bai Dinh pagoda.

The most important emphasizing point of these great religious works is Tam The Temple and  Phap Chu Temple. Two temples cover a total area of 1,000 square meters. The height of Phap Chu Temple is up to 22m and it contains five partitions.

In the center of this temple is a bronze Buddha Sakyamuni statue with 10 meters high and 100 tons heavy which is certificated as the biggest statue in Vietnam. This statue is cast by the pure bronze bought from Russian, cast and installed by the famous artisans of casting bronze statue in Y Yen, Nam Dinh. 

Moreover, there are several national records in this temple such as the three largest horizontal lacquered boards(hoành phi) and three biggest “Cua Vong” ( a kind of door which sculpted and engraved).In Tam The Temple, there are three Tam The statues representing the past, the present and the future. Each statue is 12 m high and weighs 100 tons.

The largest structure, the Tam Thế Hall, rises to 34 m at its roof ridge and measures over 59 m in length.[2] The construction materials include locally quarried stone and timber from Ninh Bình and tiles from Bát Tràng (reinforced concrete was also employed owing to the scale of construction). The temple adheres to traditional Vietnamese design aesthetics with its curve finials and corner eaves soaring outward and upward, resembling a phoenix's tail.

There is a different charges to pay at 50,000vnd per person to enter this pagoda. It is worth it because the interior design is really fantastic and you are not going to climb the ladder to the top. There is an elevator built in the pagoda.

You are required to take off the shoes before you enter. You will be provided a cloth to wear for your feet.

The best part is still the 360 degrees of the panoramic at the top of the pagoda. It is really amazing to see how big is the whole temple is.  

You don't need a drone to get this aerial view. Simply amazing!

Another special feature in Bai Dinh pagoda is “Great Bell” with the weight of 36 tons was casted and located in Bell Tower. In addition, there is 70 -ton bronze drum on the floor of the Tower. What’s more, coming to Bai Dinh pagoda, visitors have a chance to see the biggest Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva statue in Bodhissattva Temple. This statue looks so marvellous with thousand hands and eyes to present the protection and universal salvation for common people.

Furthermore, visitors will be astonished at the collection of 500 Arahat statues on the hill on the right – hand side of Phap Chu Temple. The 500 Arhat statues with the height of 2.3m, carved by Ninh Binh stone have different positions and gestures that create magic space and lively atmosphere. Without a doubt,  Bai Dinh pagoda is masterpiece of both nature and men and it is the pride of Vietnamese people in terms of  unique architecture, culture and historical value.

Total Damage: Free entrance. 30,000vnd per way (electric car), 50,000vnd per person for pagoda tower entrance.
Ambiance: 4/5
Service: 3/5
Price: 3/5
Recommended?: Yes
Opening Hours: 7.00am - 6.00pm (daily)