Le Van Duyet Temple, Ho Chi Minh City: Enrich The Soul

Ho Chi Minh City, where an assortment of vehicles rumbles all day long, is a bustling and hustling one. This is the reason why when it is mentioned, most people often think of places of crowds as glamorous shopping malls, foreign restaurants. However, a wide range of nice and quiet sites are hidden by these luxurious places. Besides the smooth rivers, secluded parks, many ones find spiritual tourism areas to take a rest and relax. Some must be told such as the Phap Hoa Pagoda, Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, including Le Van Duyet Temple. Le Van Duyet One will be an indispensable destination of your Sai Gon trip. It will give you ample opportunity to research unique architecture.

I. Why Is Le Van Duyet Temple Special?

Marshal Le Van Duyet (1763-1832) was a Vietnamese military man and politician under the Nguyen Dynasty. During his reign, the South of Vietnam at that time became a stable and peaceful area. The people worked hard without thinking about the fear of war. When he died, the temple was built with a view to expressing the gratitude of people to him for his merits.

1. The Location

Le Van Duyet Temple is located on 1 Vu Tung Street, Ward 1, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City. His tomb is put on the high mound among the respective four streets Dinh Tien Hoang, Phan Dang Luu, Trinh Hoai Duc, and Vu Tung. The surroundings are ranges of green trees and the calm landscape.

2. The Highlights

Le Van Duyet Temple is an architectural complex of steles, tombs, and shrines. If you set foot here, you will take a panoramic view of the temple. The outstanding point of the destination is that it inherits the quintessence from the forefathers (Nguyen Dynasty). Hence, the temple looks ancient, sedate, and majestic. All works of the architectural complex were built and designed carefully and elaborately so that it could become a well-known tourist attraction.

3. The Architecture

Le Van Duyet Temple, based on the blueprint of the architect Nguyen Van Tan, built in 1948. The wall which is 500 meters long and 1.2 meters high surrounds the whole temple. From the triple gates, visitors can thoroughly see the temple campus with tomb, stele, shrine, and the lush garden as well. The stele was constructed monumentally as if it was a superb throne. The crimson brick wall and yin and yang tiles adorn its aesthetics. Inside, the gravestone is put to eulogize his significant contributions to the people and country.

Le Van Duyet’s tomb and his one are parallel to each other, so the residents often call Ong BA Chieu Temple. According to some architects and archeologists, it is also named “Quy Temple”. The shape of tombs is similar to the turtle, and the word “Quy” means the turtle. The rectangle wall which encompasses the temple is paved with laterite. It expands to the large yard where the incense burner is set to serve the worship.

Near the tombs is “Thuong Cong Linh Shrine”, which usually takes place the religious life scenes and rituals of local people. The structure includes the front hall, middle hall, and the main hall. They are connected to each other by the open-air yard (or open-air well). The architecture is imprinted with the great one under the Nguyen Dynasty. Above all, the wood or stone carving skills make the design more special than ever. The dominant colors of this temple are red and yellow in harmony with the green of plants.

II. What to See and Do at Le Van Duyet Temple?

Many archeologists and researchers drop in Le Van Duyet Temple to study the historic values and the source of the country. While countless artists or painters are into the typical design of the temple in their hopes of coming up with new ideas for their works.

The festival occurs yearly on the 29^th, 30^th of July and the 1^st and 2^nd of August on the calendar. This is an occasion for everyone to pray for health, happiness, and prosperity. Many couples come here to yearn for the everlasting love and fruits of next plans. Besides the festival, this destination attracts a lot of adolescents on Tet holiday or special events. Some are interested in mingling themselves in the calm and peaceful background. The others indulge in taking photos with the ancient wall or catch the nice moments.

On weekdays, the majority of the elderly often call at the temple to do an exercise, take a quiet view, or go for a walk. The fresh air and the scenery here help them temporarily forget the troubles and enrich the soul.

III. How to Get to Le Van Duyet Temple?

The destination is situated in a convenient transportation position, so tourists can reach there by scooter, coach, or bus. It provides a full range of buses to get to Le Van Duyet Temple such as the bus number 18, number 31, 36, 54, 91, and so on. The temple is not far away from Ba Chieu Market, so it is really easy for visitors to find out the way. Surrounded by four streets as mentioned before, the temple stands out well against the green background. You can base this thing on recognizing the place.

IV. Tips on visiting Le Van Duyet Temple

If you have an intention of visiting Le Van Duyet Temple, following tips may be useful and necessary for you to know.

• Wear neatly and formally
• Keep silent because this destination is the spiritual place
• Put the garbage in the dustbin, don’t litter anywhere
• Come the temple on the festival will wallow in the merry and crowded ambiance

Le Van Duyet Temple is a special picture of the Vietnamese spiritual tourism area. The destination will bring a quiet space for all people to enjoy the solitude and purify the soul. Furthermore, studying ancient architecture is a great idea to know more about the structure of Vietnamese temples and the profound cultural traits of the country.