One Pillar Pagoda
Jan 18th, 2009 by Steven
The One Pillar Pagoda (Chùa Một Cột) in Ha Noi is an iconic structure. The place is on the itinerary of tour packages to the city.
The pagoda was originally built in 1049 by one of Vietnamese kings in dedication to the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Goddess of Mercy), with the temple resting on a single wooden pillar to represent a lotus flower in a square-shaped pond. The temple was burnt by the French troop when it retreated from the country in 1954, and was rebuilt the following year.
Visitors includings nuns making their way to the pagoda along a narrow flight of steps, to pray to the Goddess of Mercy <Canon 350D: ISO 200; F/9; 1/125 sec>
Inside the pagoda - statues and pictures of Kuan Yin <Canon 350D: ISO 800; F/4; 1/13 sec>