One Pillar Pagoda Hanoi, Vietnam

One Pillar Pagoda (Chua Mot Cot) is a small wooden shrine on a single stone pillar in a lotus pond, a 10-minute walk from the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi. Vietnamese visitors enter free; foreigners pay 25,000 VND. The shrine is only 3 m across: worth a short stop on a Mausoleum-area walk, not a trip of its own.

One Pillar Pagoda entrance fee and opening hours

Vietnamese visitors go in free. Foreign visitors pay 25,000 VND (about US$1), according to VnExpress International in December 2024, and the national tourism site, vietnam.travel, gives the same price. Older guides, including the earlier version of this page, said entry was free for everyone.

Opening hours are less settled. VnExpress gives 7:00 to 18:00 every day. Vietnam.travel lists the Mausoleum’s morning-only schedule for the pagoda instead, in an entry that also names the wrong king as its builder.

Is One Pillar Pagoda open when the Mausoleum is closed?

Probably, but no official notice says so either way. The Mausoleum receives visitors only on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday mornings, and it shuts for about two months a year for maintenance (in 2026, from 4 September to 2 November). VnExpress’s hours for the pagoda, 7:00–18:00 daily, cover Mondays, Fridays and afternoons too. If you cannot afford a wasted trip, go on a Mausoleum morning, when every source agrees the pagoda is open.

I. One Pillar Pagoda History

One Pillar Pagoda, also known as Dien Huu pagoda or Lien Hoa Dai, was built in 1049 by Ly Thai Tong, a king of the Ly dynasty who reigned from 1028 to 1054. Dien Huu means “lasting blessings”. Chua Mot Cot is the everyday Vietnamese name; the Sino-Vietnamese form, Nhat Tru Tu, also means One Pillar Pagoda.

According to folk legend, the king was old but had no child. Each day, he used to go to pagodas to pray to Buddha for a son. One night, he dreamt that he saw Quan Am Bo Tat sitting on the lotus pond that lightened up gorgeous halos and gave him a baby.

When he woke up, the king told his subjects about that. A few months later, the queen gave birth to a prince. The king was at the top of the world. He decided to construct a pagoda with only one pillar to resemble a giant lotus blossom to show deep gratitude to Quan Am Bo Tat.

The pagoda has experienced many events through its history:

• In  1105, King Ly Nhan Tong renovated and expanded the pagoda with Linh Chieu Lake added.
• In 1954, before leaving Hanoi, French colonialists set mines to destroy One Pillar Pagoda.
• In 1955, the Ministry of Culture restored and preserved the pagoda as it is now, following its old design.
• In 1962, One Pillar Pagoda Complex was recognized as National Historic Heritage
• In October 2012, at Faridabad in India, an Asian records body (Tổ chức Kỷ lục châu Á) named it “The Pagoda with the Most Unique Architecture in Asia”. It had held a Vietnam record for its architecture since 2006.

II. One Pillar Pagoda Architecture

One Pillar pagoda architecture is a typical Hanoi attraction for cultural and spiritual symbols of Vietnam’s capital.

Its uniqueness in architecture is that the whole temple is settled on a single stone pillar. And, the lotus is reckoned the symbol of One Pillar Pagoda.

1. One Pillar Pagoda Highlight

The structure of pagoda includes one pillar, Lien Hoa Dai, and a roof. The stone pillar is constituted from two small blocks that are piled skillfully with 1.2 meters in diameter and 4 meters in height (not including the part underground). 

Above the pillar, there are wooden beams that spread out like petals. They are the system of wooden slats forming the solid structure firmly supporting the pagoda which looks like one and as steady as rock.

Lien Hoa Dai is a wooden square structure with each side of 3 meters. Its roof curves up at all four corners, and two dragons face a moon on the ridge. The roof of the pagoda is covered by traditional red and mossy tiles.

It is placed in the small Linh Chieu lotus pond and there are four short walls surrounded it. To go up to the pagoda floor, you must climb a small brick stair, with stone stele on two sides of the brick-tiled wall introducing the history of the pagoda.

In the pagoda, the statue of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (Quan Thế Âm Bồ Tát) sits on a wooden and red-lacquered throne at the highest position. Some worshipping objects such as a couple of pot flower vases, thuribles, candles,… are decorated carefully which creates a grave religious space.

2. Special Meaning behind the Architecture

The pagoda is situated in the clusters of Ho Chi Minh relics that attract a large number of tourists annually. The all-laid-on-a-pillar special feature of One Pillar Pagoda’s architecture is a harmonious combination of spectacular ideas and architectural perfection. Besides, it also is compressed with philosophical meanings.  

The round pillar represents the sky and Yang while the square pond represents the law and Yin, which demonstrates the law of circulation of the universe.

Seeing from a distance, One Pillar Pagoda looks like a lotus flower emerging from the water’s surface. The lotus delicate beauty is a symbol of intelligence, elevated personality and simple virtue of Vietnamese people.

This familiar symbol of Hanoi appears in a lot of newspapers, books as well as educational programs. It is also on the 5,000 dong coin, which went into circulation in late 2003. Vietnam stopped minting coins in 2011, but the State Bank said the coins already in circulation keep their legal value.

III. Activities at One Pillar Pagoda

Here are some activities for tourists when visiting The Pagoda:

• See what an Asian records body named, in 2012, the pagoda with the most unique architecture in Asia.
• Pray for a happy and lucky life, successful career and especially children
• Take photos of a bodhi tree – a gift of Indian president Rajendra Prasad to Ho Chi Minh President on the occasion of the President’s visit to India in 1958. It grows in the pagoda grounds.

One Pillar Pagoda photos: when to go

Come in summer if photos matter to you: that is when Linh Chieu pond fills with lotus flowers around the pillar. The shrine is small and raised on its pillar, so step back to the edge of the pond to get pillar and roof in one frame.

IV. How to Get to One Pillar Pagoda

Hanoi has many types of transportation that you can choose to travel. By bus, routes 09A, 09ACT and 18 stop near 15A Le Hong Phong Street, about 200 m from the pagoda (routes as listed by VnExpress International in December 2024).

On the other hand, a taxi, Grab car or motorbike is also a  good choice due to the short time and convenience. By road, the pagoda is 2.7–3.3 km from Hoan Kiem Lake, 2.8–3.5 km from Dong Xuan Market in the Old Quarter and 25–26 km from Noi Bai Airport. If you are already at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, it is about a 10-minute walk.

V. Tips on Visiting One Pillar Pagoda

• Wear modest clothing; VnExpress’s guide asks for dress suited to a sacred site.
• Keep silence and don’t touch the objects on the altar. 
• The shrine is only 3 m across, with room for just a few incense bowls, so step back down once you have prayed or taken your photo.
• Photos are allowed, but turn off the flash and don’t stand on the narrow stairway for long.

Owing to unique architecture and associated mystical legend and being nearby other famous sites like Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum and Temple of Literature, Ho Chi Minh’s Stilt House, the Presidential Palace, the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, Ba Dinh Square, the pagoda attracts many domestic and foreign tourists every year.

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If you have an opportunity to explore Hanoi as well as learn Vietnam culture, don’t miss this wonderful place. Don’t hesitate to comment below and share your emotions and truthful experience after visiting this site.

Sources: VnExpress International (December 2024); Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (ticket); Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Management Board and Nhân Dân (Mausoleum days)