1. Where is Clay Pagoda?
Clay Pagoda is located at 286 Ton Duc Thang Street, Hamlet 1, Ward 5, Soc Trang City, Soc Trang Province, Vietnam. It is about 1.5 km northeast of the city center and about 210 km southwest of Ho Chi Minh City.
2. How is Clay Pagoda pagoda
Clay Pagoda is also known as Buu Son Tu. It has a simple architecture with wooden pillars and corrugated iron roofs containing many unique cultural and artistic values. There are nearly 2,000 large and small Buddha statues along with sacred animals and worship objects molded from clay by artisan Ngo Kim Tong over 42 years from 1929 to 1970.
Although it does not impress with its grand scale or special architecture like other pagodas in Soc Trang. But Buu Son Tu makes anyone who visits here amazed by the countless artifacts made entirely of clay. This also explains the name “Clay Pagoda” of this unique religious work.
With such great historical and cultural values, Clay Pagoda was recognized as a Provincial Historical – Cultural Relic on December 10, 2010.
3. When is the best time to visit Clay Pagoda?
You can visit Clay Pagoda at any time of the year. However, according to the experience of Soc Trang tourists who have been here, the ideal time to visit Dat Set Pagoda is on the full moon day of the fourth and seventh lunar months. This is the best time to clearly feel the spirituality, sacred beauty, brilliant decorations, and religious activities, offering incense to show respect and gratitude to ancestors.
4. How to get to Clay Pagoda?
If you depart from Ho Chi Minh City, you go to Mien Tay bus station to catch a bus to Soc Trang city first. Moreover, Dat Set Pagoda is located on Ton Duc Thang Street, right in the city center, very easy to find. When you arrive, you can rent a motorbike, take a taxi or even walk to this spiritual destination. You also can fine it via google map here.
5. History of the formation and development of the Clay Pagoda
According to the elders, Buu Son Tu was originally just a small hermitage built by Mr. Ngo Kim Tay around the beginning of the 19th century for the purpose of practicing. The pagoda at that time was made entirely of natural materials exploited in the local area such as bamboo, reed, thatch, etc.
It was not until the 4th abbot of monk Ngo Kim Tong (1909 – 1970) that the hermitage was expanded and became the spacious religious structure it is today. According to legend, the story of this monk is also very mysterious. Ngo Kim Tong was the son of Mr. Ngo Kim Dinh, who was often sick when he was young. In 1929, when Mr. Tong was 20 years old, he fell seriously ill, and his family could not cure him, so they had no choice but to take him to the pagoda on the mountain to pray to Buddha. Unexpectedly, he took medicine, meditated, and calmed his mind, but gradually he recovered. After that, Mr. Kim Tong got married and became a monk, then became the fourth abbot of Buu Son Tu.
Not only did he rebuild the temple, the clay statues here were all created by monk Ngo Kim Tong himself. Although he did not go through any sculpture or painting classes, he only learned from folklore. However, his works made entirely of clay have extremely precious and unique historical and religious values.
6. Admiring the unique architecture of the Clay Pagoda
With an area of about 400m2, the pagoda has a simple architectural style with wooden pillars and a corrugated iron roof. This is also the place that contains nearly 2,000 large and small Buddha statues along with sacred animals and worship objects molded from clay by artisan Ngo Kim Tong over 42 years, from 1929 to 1970. All of which bring to this place extremely unique and impressive cultural and artistic values.
When you pass through the three-door gate and go straight along the concrete road to the side door of the pagoda. You will quickly encounter a white elephant about 2m high standing tall as if welcoming Buddhists and visitors. Right behind the clay elephant statue is the main Buddha worshiping room arranged according to the ideology of “Three religions in common”. That is, worshiping Buddha, Confucianism and Taoism. Including: Amitabha Buddha, Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, Confucius, Jade Emperor, etc.
In addition, the Multi-Treasure Tower and the Lotus Pavilion are known as the works at the Clay Pagoda. They are certified as the two largest Buddhist artifacts made from clay in Vietnam. With the Multi-Treasure Tower, monk Ngo Kim Tong made this work in 1939 when he was 30 years old. The tower is about 4m high and is designed extremely sophisticatedly and meticulously with 13 floors. Each floor has 16 doors, each door has a beautiful Buddha statue. In total, this tower has 208 doors and 208 Buddhas. Moreover, surrounding the tower are 156 winding dragons in a soaring position to protect this architectural work.
Unlike Da Bao Tower, Bao Toa Lien Hoa was built in 1940. This structure is about 2m high, with a lotus flower with 1,000 octagonal petals on top, and 16 fairies standing below. In addition, the base of the tower is shaped from 12 fish transforming into dragons and the four sacred animals: dragon, unicorn, turtle, and phoenix, which are extremely vivid and unique. Just looking at this artifact is enough for you to feel the Buddha’s intention expressed through the statue.
At the same time, everyone secretly admires the outstanding sculpting skills of the abbot Ngo Kim Tong. When visiting Buu Son Tu, you will have the opportunity to discover many more statues made of clay. Such as: Luc Long Dang lamp cluster, the pair of Kim Lan guarding the temple, …
7. Treasures at Clay Pagoda
Clay Pagoda also owns 4 pairs of giant candles that bring fame to this pagoda. It is known that at the end of his life, he temporarily stopped making statues and started casting candles to be erected in the main halls of the pagoda. With a weight of 200kg and a height of 2m, they are very elaborately shaped. It is estimated that each pair of candles like this can burn continuously for more than 70 years, while the smaller candles weighing about 100kg can burn for 40 years. Since the death of Master Ngo Kim Tong, this small candle has been lit every full moon of July and has burned 1/5 of the candle.
8. Enjoying Soc Trang specialties when visiting Clay Pagoda
When visiting this ancient pagoda, you will not only admire the unique architecture or hear interesting legends. And especially see the giant bats. But you also have the opportunity to enjoy delicious dishes of this beautiful land. The special dishes include: Braised star goby with lemongrass and chili, Banh Khot, Shrimp crackers, Duck noodle soup with pepper, Soc Trang grilled veal. Or noodle soup with fish, Vermicelli rice salad, Pia cake, Cake with jelly, Sesame apple.
9. Accommodation when visiting Clay Pagoda
When visiting this famous spiritual site, you can refer to some of the following accommodations:
- Thuan Phat Hotel. Address: 295 Phu Loi, Ward 2, Soc Trang.
- Net Viet Hotel Vincom Soc Trang. Address: 22 Tran Hung Dao, Ward 2, Soc Trang.
- Ngoc Thu Hotel. Address: Km 2127 Highway 1A, An Hiep Commune, My Tu District, Soc Trang.
- Thien An Hotel. Address: 293 Tran Hung Dao, Ward 3, Soc Trang City.
- Satraco Royal Hotel. Address: 198 Van Ngoc Chinh, Ward 3, Soc Trang.
- My Hang Hotel. Address: 478 Tran Hung Dao, Ward 2, Soc Trang.
- Ngoc Lan Hotel. Address: 182 Le Hong Phong Street, Ward 3, Soc Trang.
- Xuan Huynh 3 Hotel. Address: 34A Huynh Phan Ho, Ward 6, Soc Trang City, Soc Trang.
- Hai Yen Hotel. Address: 290 QL1A, Ward 7, Soc Trang City, Soc Trang.
Despite the passage of time and historical events, the Clay Pagoda and its artifacts still retain their artistic and religious values over time. Join Origin Vietnam – a professional tour operator. We will accompany you on the Mekong Delta tour to visit this unique pagoda with unforgettable memories.
