Visit Soc Son Temple | Phu Dong Temple - Phu Dong Thien Vuong

Giong Soc Son Temple was formerly a small temple built during the reign of King Dinh Tien Hoang, then King Le Dai Hanh built, repaired and consecrated Phu Dong Thien Vuong temple. Giong Temple Soc Son is not only associated with the history of the Vietnamese nation but also with the legend of Saint Giong, which is often handed down by folk.

 

Giong temple  is located in Soc mountain, Ve Linh commune, Soc Son, is a complex of historical relics including Trinh temple, Non Nuoc pagoda, Thuong temple, Mau temple (where to worship Saint Giong’s mother), Dai Bi pagoda, and the rock. The husband, the stele house and especially the statue of Saint Giong are cast in pure copper. This relic complex has been recognized by the State as a national historical relic.

Directions to Giong Soc Son Temple

If tourists come from far away, they can  book flight tickets to Hanoi  on Vntrip, then choose the appropriate means to get to Giong Temple.

Take the bus

From the Long Bien bus transit point, you take bus number 15, turn to Soc Son Temple Complex, a little before the last point is Pho Ne.

From the junction to  Soc temple  , it is about 3km more so you can walk or call a motorbike taxi. However, because the journey inside the temple grounds requires a lot of walking, it is best to call a motorbike taxi to save energy.

Ride a motorbike or a car

If you go from Co Loa, just go back to Highway 3 and go for more than 20km, there is a signpost to the Soc temple on the left hand side.

And if you don’t go through Co Loa but go straight to Soc temple, you also have 2 choices about the way:

• The road crosses Nhat Tan bridge, don’t turn onto the extended National Highway 5 but keep going straight until you meet Highway 18 (Phu Lo), then turn right onto Highway 18 for a bit, continue to turn left onto Highway 3, go One more section will come to the junction with signposts to the Soc temple complex.
• The second road is the road going through Thang Long bridge towards Noi Bai airport, at the intersection with Highway 18, then follow Highway 18 around the back of Noi Bai airport, follow road 131, until you meet Highway 3. Turn left and go 1 further to arrive.

Giong Temple historical site Soc Son

Right from the entrance gate is  Trinh Temple  (also known as Ha Temple) where the statue of the mountain god is located. This statue is cast entirely from bronze, weighs 7 tons with an extremely majestic style. Outside the temple, there is an ancient banyan tree and a very clear blue lake.

Going through Trinh temple is  Dai Bi Pagoda, an ancient temple with ancient paintings, parallel sentences painted with gold and ancient architecture tinged with moss.

Opposite Dai Bi Pagoda is  the Mother Temple , where the statue of Saint Giong’s mother is located. The water well outside the temple is also called the Mau well.

From the Mau temple go up a little more to  the Thuong temple , which is the last temple in the complex of 4 temples and pagodas at the foot of Ve Linh mountain, which is the place to worship Saint Giong. In the temple, there is Dai Bai house and the harem. Dai Bai house is decorated with couplets, parasols, cranes… are all typical features of ancient Vietnamese temple architecture, while the harem houses a statue of Saint Giong made from agarwood.

From the gate of the monument going up, you will see  the stele house  built entirely of slate, where the stele has existed for hundreds of years.

The most outstanding feature in this relic is the  statue of Saint Giong  on the top of Da Chong mountain, made entirely of pure copper, 11.07m high, weighing 85 tons. This statue was inaugurated in 2010, is one of the construction works to celebrate 1000 years of Thang Long. You can choose to climb the stairs from the foot of the mountain, or rent a car to go straight to the top of the mountain along the path built on the side of the mountain.

From the statue of Saint Giong going down, you can turn to visit  Non Nuoc pagoda  at the height of 110m, where the bronze statue of Tathagata Buddha is located over 8m high, weighing 30 tons.

Giong festival in Soc temple

Giong Festival is an annual festival held at  Giong Temple in Soc Son  to commemorate the merits of the old Giong hero. The annual Giong Festival attracts thousands of visitors each year to see the ceremonies such as: products, war elephants, elephant grass, betel nut areca, incense flower procession, bamboo flower spring, General palanquin, Huc bridge palanquin. along with that is a series of games with bold folk characteristics such as swinging, catching ducks, breaking earthen pots, singing quan ho, chess boi; air volleyball tournament, general singing and dancing; performing traditional national martial arts… This festival has also been recognized by UNESCO as an “intangible cultural heritage of mankind”, a beauty of Vietnam’s traditional culture.

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