1. Where is Phu Chau Floating Temple?
This is an ancient temple located on the Vam Thuat River, in Ward 5, Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It is about 8.5 km north of the city center and about 6.5 km northeast of Tan Son Nhat International Airport.
2. How is Phu Chau Floating Temple unique?
Phu Chau Floating Temple is also known by many other names such as Phu Chau Temple, Go Vap Floating Temple,… This is an ancient temple considered a unique spiritual architectural work in the land of Saigon – Gia Dinh. The entire area of the temple covers a small mound of land in the middle of the river, up to 2500m2 wide.
Phu Chau Floating Temple is also a very sacred place to pray for fortune and love in Saigon. This is also a famous Saigon tourist destination with unique architecture that harmoniously blends Vietnam and China.
Phu Chau Floating Temple is surrounded by rivers on all sides, so to get here, visitors must travel by boat. From afar, it looks mysterious and impressive. That is why this place is always peaceful and quiet, completely different from the hustle and bustle on both banks.
In addition to traveling to the temple to visit and pray for blessings. You can also feel the fresh air and peace of mind. In particular, Phu Chau floating temple was recognized as a city-level architectural and artistic relic in 2010.
3. History of Phu Chau floating temple
Many visitors who have the opportunity to visit Phu Chau floating temple want to learn information about the temple. Such as the story of the floating temple in Go Vap or who Phu Chau floating temple worships. In fact, people today still do not know the exact time of construction of the temple. They only estimate the construction time around the beginning of the 19th century.
According to legend, there was a fisherman who fished out the body of a woman. This man buried the woman’s body on the island and built a small temple to worship the ghost. After doing this, the man’s life also improved. After hearing this story, many people came here to pray for blessings. From there, they built a more spacious temple to worship Ngu Hanh and Long Mau.
Before 1975, Phu Chau floating temple was a famous pilgrimage site for Saigon people. After that, the temple was abandoned for a while. It was not until 1989 that a Chinese man named Luc Cau used his own money to renovate and restore the temple. After many renovations, Phu Chau floating temple has a unique and eye-catching architecture as it is today.
4. How to get to Phu Chau floating temple?
Phu Chau floating temple is located not far from the city center. And the traffic infrastructure here is quite developed and convenient. You can get to this temple by motorbike, private car, taxi or bus.
If you go by personal vehicle, departing from the city center, you move along Nguyen Thai Son street. Then, turn onto Tran Ba Giao street. From here, you go a few hundred meters more to the parking lot to get on the boat to the temple.
After arriving at the parking lot, you park your car and buy a ticket to take the boat to the temple for only about 15,000 VND/person/trip. The distance between the mainland and the temple is not too far, so visitors only need to sit for about 5 minutes to arrive at the temple.
Note: The boat ticket price is for reference only and may change depending on the time. You should ask for ticket price information at the pier to update the latest changes.
5. Opening hours and entrance fee of Phu Chau Floating Temple
5.1 Opening hours:
- From 08:00 to 18:00, daily.
Note: On the occasion of Lunar New Year, the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, the 1st day of the 7th lunar month,… the temple will be open until about 20:00.
5.2 Admission fee:
- Free.
6. Activities and experiences at Phu Chau floating temple
6.1 Admiring the sophisticated and unique architecture
The first experience if you have the opportunity to visit Phu Chau floating temple is to visit and explore the sophisticated and unique architecture of the temple. The overall architecture of the temple is a combination and fusion of Vietnamese and Chinese culture.
Phu Chau floating temple consists of 3 buildings connected by 2 courtyards and impresses visitors with its jade green glazed yin-yang tiled roof. In front is the main hall, the facade facing the South and built in the shape of the letter tam. The overlapping roofs are decorated with dragons facing pearls, dragons facing the Nine-Piece Tower and dragons facing scrolls. On the 4 curved ends of the roof are attached the images of Dragon, Unicorn, Turtle, Phoenix and unique motifs such as chrysanthemums, grape leaves, rivers and water. In addition, the wall is painted in dark pink and the door is painted red of the temple, creating a sacred and magnificent space.
In addition, when visiting the temple, you will be impressed by the entire architecture inside the temple. The entire architecture inside the temple is beautifully and elaborately decorated and embossed with phoenixes, dragons, etc. The domes in the temple are also inlaid with porcelain and skillfully assembled. In particular, the reliefs on the walls, columns or ceilings are extremely beautiful and impressive with unique folk belief images.
6.2 Exploring the area of worshiping the gods
The area of worshiping the gods of Phu Chau floating temple is divisive into 3 main areas: front hall, middle hall and main hall. Each worship area will be designed and worship different gods.
- Front hall area: The front hall area of the temple worships Maitreya Buddha, while the two sides worship Buddha Tathagata and Earth Mother.
- Middle hall area: The central space of the middle hall worships the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
- Main shrine area: In the middle of the main shrine area, there are 5 wooden statues of the Five Elements Goddess, especially inside, there are 5 wooden statues of Kim, Thuy, Tho, Hoa, Moc. On the right side, Quan Cong is worshiped, and on the left side, Bao Cong is worshiped. In addition, opposite the Ngu Hanh Thanh Mau temple are the Dia Mau, Kim Mau, Ho Phap and Long Than temples.
6.3 Admiring more than 100 large and small dragons at Phu Chau temple
Go Vap floating temple not only impresses visitors from all over with its beautiful and unique architectural style. But also with the image of 100 large and small dragons placed everywhere. When you first set foot in the temple entrance and the main shrine area, you will be amazed by the image of large dragons in attendance.
The dragons are sculpted, carved, painted, … delicately and appear everywhere in the temple in different postures. The image of two dragons competing for a pearl on the roof is the most popular, creating a unique appearance that attracts visitors from all over. In addition, there are images of beautifully carved dragons, winding around the pillars. Or images of vivid, beautiful dragon pairs inside the worshiping rooms, all creating a unique and attractive space.
6.4 Immersing yourself in the peaceful and cool scenery
Right from the moment you sit on the boat to go to Phu Chau floating temple, you can feel the fresh air of nature and the river, completely different from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Sitting on the boat, you have the opportunity to watch the water hyacinths floating on the river or admire the green coconut groves.
When you come to the temple, the temple is like a miniature red snail located on the Vam Thuat river, next to the An Phu Dong peninsula, so this place is like a peaceful and serene countryside. Therefore, Go Vap floating temple is not only a famous sacred spiritual place but also an ideal stop for visitors to immerse themselves in the peaceful and cool landscape.
7. Spiritual activities at Phu Chau floating temple
If you have the opportunity to visit the temple, in addition to the above activities such as visiting the temple, exploring the unique architecture of the temple, … many people and tourists from all over the world also come to the temple to pray for luck and peace. Because this is a very sacred temple, there are often many people coming to the temple to visit and offer incense. Especially on holidays of the year such as Lunar New Year or the first and fifteenth day of each month, it is not difficult to see the image of long lines of tourists waiting for the boat to the temple or the Tran Ba Giao street is always congested.
In addition, there are people and tourists who come to the temple to pray to the Holy Mother for peace in their family and prosperity in business. Some people come to the temple to pray for love, children, … In addition, the temple also holds activities of releasing fish, birds or turtles, … for people who come to the temple after making offerings.
8. Enjoying Saigon specialties when traveling to Phu Chau floating temple
When visiting Phu Chau floating temple, you not only admire the unique architecture, but also listen to interesting legendary stories here. You also have the opportunity to enjoy the specialties of this youthful city. Indulge in Vietnam’s iconic dishes such as beef noodle soup, fish sauce noodle soup, tapioca dumplings, crab soup, Southern Vietnamese pancakes, pho, broken rice, sticky rice with gac fruit, grilled rice paper and more.
9. Accommodation when traveling to Phu Chau floating temple
When traveling to this famous place, you can refer to some of the following accommodations:
- Angkor 2 Hotel. Address: No. 33b, Street No. 8, Ward 11, Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City.
- RedDoorz Minh Thu Quang Trung. Address: No. 21, Ward 8, Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City.
- Sao Beach Hotel 2. Address: 139/29 Nguyen Van Luong, Ward 10, Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City.
- Lan Anh Hotel. Address: 251/28 Le Van Tho Street, Ward 9, Go Vap, Ho Chi Minh City.
- Dragon Hotel 1. Address: 616 Le Duc Tho Street, Ward 15, Go Vap, Ho Chi Minh City.
- Phoenix Hotel. Address: 464 Le Van Tho Street, Ward 16, Go Vap, Ho Chi Minh City.
- Venus Hotel. Address: 872 Quang Trung, Ward 8, Go Vap, Ho Chi Minh City.
- Lucky Homestay. Address: 231 Nguyen Van Cong, Ward 3, Go Vap, Ho Chi Minh City.
- S Phuot Homestay. Address: 891/4 Nguyen Kiem, Ward 3, Go Vap, Ho Chi Minh City.
- Cao Gia Hai Hotel. Address: 78 Le Duc Tho, Ward 5, Go Vap, Ho Chi Minh City.
10. Some important notes when traveling to Phu Chau floating temple
To have a complete visit and explore Phu Chau floating temple. You can save some useful experiences below:
- Choosing clothes: Clothes to the temple should be discreet, polite, should not wear clothes that are too revealing and sexy.
- Find out the way and weather in advance: To have a complete visit and pilgrimage, you should find out the way in advance. To avoid wasting time finding the way as well as monitoring the weather to avoid going on days with unfavorable weather.
- Prepare offerings: You should find out in advance about the offerings to prepare when coming to the temple such as vegetarian offerings or non-vegetarian offerings to be able to have the most complete pilgrimage.
- Do not touch or take any objects in the temple: Avoid touching objects in the temple to preserve the art and architecture. Also, do not take objects from the temple without permission from the temple management board.
- Keep clean and protect the landscape: To avoid environmental pollution as well as protect the temple’s landscape, you should throw garbage in the right place.
- Respectful attitude: Because this is a sacred spiritual tourist destination, when you come to the temple, you need to maintain a respectful attitude and avoid making noise to those around you.
- Limit eating and drinking at the temple: You should limit bringing food and eating in the temple to lose the sacred atmosphere of the temple.
11. Some other famous spiritual tourist destinations near Phu Chau floating temple
11.1 Ngoc Hoang Pagoda
Ngoc Hoang Pagoda is one of the sacred pagodas in Saigon that you should not miss. In the past, people often called this Ngoc Hoang Temple, a place to worship Ngoc Hoang, originating from China. That’s why the architecture here has a strong Chinese character. Inside the temple, there are still many artistic and rare wooden sculptures. Once inside, you will surely be delighted by the space filled with smoke billowing throughout the lotus pond,…
Not only does it possess unique architecture, but it also has extremely impressive spiritual values. When you come here, you will not only be able to worship and pray, but you will also hear about sacred stories. For example: just touching Mrs. Nguyet, Mr. To or the Holy Mother will help you find love and have children. In the past, US President Obama visited this temple. This event attracted many international visitors.
11.2 Xa Loi Pagoda
Xa Loi Pagoda is also a famous pagoda in Saigon located on Ba Huyen Thanh Quan street. The pagoda has quite modern and new architecture but still cleverly integrates the typical cultural values of the locality. This project was built thanks to the enthusiastic contributions of people in the South with the purpose of worshiping Buddha’s relics. The highlight of Xa Loi Pagoda is the 7-storey tower of 32m. On the top floor hangs a large bell weighing up to 2 tons, with a shape quite similar to the model at Thien Mu Pagoda.
11.3 Ba Thien Hau Pagoda
Ba Thien Hau Pagoda is currently the most sacred pagoda in Saigon. And it has a great influence on the cultural life of the Chinese community here. People built this pagoda in 1760 and has been recognized as a national architectural and artistic relic. After more than 2 centuries of existence, the pagoda still retains its unique architectural art despite being restored many times.
11.4 Vinh Nghiem Pagoda
Vinh Nghiem Pagoda was built in the 1960s and is a place of meditation for Buddhists in the South. When visiting the pagoda, visitors from all over the world, in addition to exploring the unique architecture of the pagoda. But they also have the opportunity to participate in meaningful Buddhist meditation courses and charity activities.
Phu Chau Floating Temple is more than 3 centuries old. And it is currently one of the famous sacred temples in Saigon. With its unique location, the road to the temple leaves unforgettable experiences for visitors from all over the world.
Join Origin Vietnam – a professional tour operator. We will accompany you to Phu Chau Temple. You will not only find peace for your soul but also explore the architecture, pray for peace and luck for your family, friends and relatives. This will definitely be an ideal stop on your journey to explore Saigon during your upcoming vacation to Vietnam.
