Saigon Cao Dai Temple

The Saigon Cao Dai Temple is an active temple of Caodaism, a Vietnamese religion founded in 1926. It stands at 891 Tran Hung Dao, about 3 km from Ben Thanh Market. It is not the Holy See in Tay Ninh, but it is worth a stop if you want to see Cao Dai worship without a day trip.

Saigon Cao Dai Temple or the Tay Ninh Holy See: which should you visit?

The Cao Dai Holy See, the headquarters of the religion, is in Tay Ninh, about 95–100 km northwest of central Ho Chi Minh City by road (see our page on the Vatican of Caodaism). The Saigon temple is a branch. It is the seat of the Saigon parish (Ho Dao Sai Gon) and houses the city office of the Tay Ninh church’s representative board.

If you have a full day, go to Tay Ninh: it is the bigger and more important temple, and day tours often pair it with the Cu Chi Tunnels. If you only have a few hours, the Saigon temple follows the same plan on a much smaller city plot, with Hiep Thien Dai at the front and Bagua Dai with the Divine Eye at the back, and it fits easily into an afternoon in Cho Lon. Already doing the Tay Ninh trip? Skip this one unless Cao Dai architecture really interests you, as you will have seen the full-size version.

History of Saigon Cao Dai Temple

Before 1949, the practice place of Cao Dai religion in Sai Gon was located at Thai Hoa pagoda (75 Co Bac street, then in District 1). It was originally a pagoda of the Minh Su religion and was later given to Cao Dai to worship Chi Ton (Master of the Universe). Cao Dai followers around the region come here to worship on holidays. It also housed the office of Kham Chau Dao Sai Gon at that time. Today, this place is a spacious Buddha Shrine, called Thai Hoa Mother Buddha Goddess  Shrine.

In 1949, due to the religious need, Great Guardian Pham Cong Tac bought a French villa, located on an area of ​​931 square meters. The address at that time was 107 (now 891) Tran Hung Dao Street, District 5, Sai Gon, to set up a working office. Therefore, he and his officials can rest and work here.

Later, Guardian Pham Cong Tac gave this place to Chau Dao Saigon (the Saigon branch of the religion) as a religious practice site, at that time it was the ground house, in front of this place worships Chi Ton, on the side worships Buddha, and the rear house is working and resting place for the administrators and the directorates of the religion in the territory of Saigon.

Until 1973, Cao Dai believer Thuong Dau Thanh of Sai Gon Branch at that time built an extra floor.  The second floor worshipped Duc Chi Ton and Buddha Goddess. It is more spacious than the old one. The first floor now is used as a restroom and creates additional doors in the style of the three-door tradition.

After 1975, this place was seriously degraded. In the mid-1990s, when the religious policy was more open and the rapid need for development, rulers of the Saigon Branch held a large meeting leading to the decision to rebuild the Holy Temple according to model number 4 of Tay Ninh Holy Temple.

This is a large building of Cao Dai religion, which was built in 2 years. It was inaugurated on July 14, 2001. The total construction cost was approximately 1,335,496,000 VND, which was a huge amount of money at that time.

Structure of Cao Dai Temple

The Saigon Cao Dai Temple building has three floors: a ground floor and two upper floors.

1. The Ground Floor

This has the living hall of the faithful believers and the workplace of the managers of the District 5 branch. The back is the kitchen and auxiliary works (water reservoir, toilet, public bathrooms).

2. The First Floor

This is the place worshipping the legendary spirit Cuu Huyen That To and stateroom. It has a small balcony overlooking Tran Hung Dao street. It is also architecturally and beautifully decorated. Behind the house is a separate room for resting.

3. The Second Floor

This is the main part, built in the model of a Cao Dai Temple including Hiep Thien Dai with its bell and drum towers, Cuu Trung Dai and Bagua Dai. It has an arched ceiling and dragon pillars.

3.1. Cuu Trung Dai

The middle part of the Main Hall is the area of ​​ Cuu Trung Dai, connecting Hiep Thien Dai and Bagua Dai. This area has 6 pillars divided into 2 sides, but according to the rules of the Tay Ninh Holy Temple, it is not decorated with dragons as in the Holy Temple. Beneath each pillar is a large red lotus.  It is the place of worship of dignitaries, officers, and believers.

3.2. Bagua Dai

Bagua Dai is located at the end of the temple. This area has 8 dragon pillars arranged in Bagua shape. It also has a large altar with 8 steps. The first step is a large eye that symbolizes the Supreme God. There is an oil lamp called the Taiji lamp that is always lit, under the eye. The second step is the altar worshiping three founders of three major religions, Buddha Shakyamuni, Lao Tzu, and Confucius. The third step worships Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, Ly Bai,  Guan Yu. The fourth step worships Jesus. The fifth worships Jiang Ziya. The sixth, seventh and final steps are places where your offerings are placed: a vase, a fruit plate, three glasses of wine, a cup of tea, a cup of water, two candlesticks and a large incense burner.

3.3. Hiep Thien Dai

Hiep Thien Dai in Saigon Temple has two towers, one for the bell and one for the drum. The bell tower is equipped with a ventilated box, creating the word “CAO” in Vietnam and Chinese characters, on which are 4 words “Bach Ngoc Chung Dai” in Vietnamese. There is a large bell in this tower called Bach Ngoc Chung. On top of the bell tower is a carved gourd and staff, the emblems of Ly Thiet Qua (Li Tieguai, one of the Eight Immortals), who is said to be the previous life of Thuong Trung Nhut, the religious name of Le Van Trung, the first acting Pope of Caodaism.

The drum tower has a ventilating box, creating the letters “Dai” in the Vietnamese and the Chinese language, on which there are 4 words “Loi Am Co Dai” written in Vietnamese. There was a large drum called Loi Am Co. On top of the drum tower, below the lightning rod, is a carved basket of blue flowers which are valuable items of Long Nu, the attendant of  Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. She is said to be the previous karma of the Female Cardinal Huong Thanh.

The main entrance area has 4 pillars called Long Hoa Pillars. Each side has two parallel pillars. One has carved a red dragon, the other has carved a lotus flower. All of them are delicate carvings, bright colors, symbolizing Long Hoa Congress, a period of evolutionary transition of mankind.

The middle of the entrance has a painting, which draws a hand from the clouds to hold a scale on the globe. It is called the Scale of Justice, symbolizing justice for judging human sins. On the right of the entrance is the statue of Mr. Thien. On the left of the entrance is the statue of Mr. Ac.

On top of the outside temple, the Eye of God symbol is embossed. Above, there is a Maitreya Buddha statue sitting on the back of a white tiger and a lotus tower. The symbol of the tiger symbolizes the year of Fire Tiger (1926), which is the year of the initiation of Cao Dai religion.

Going through the five steps of the main entrance, you will go to Tinh Tam Dien Area. In the front of this, you can see a picture of the Three Saints of Cao Dai. They are signing the Thien Nhan peace treaty, painted in the model of Tay Ninh Holy Temple.

The inner compartment of the Holy Temple is called the Main Hall behind the Cao Dai Three Saints painting. Opposite with the God altar, that is the Dharmapala altar drawing the character of Qi in the Chinese language.

Highlights and Activities in Saigon Cao Dai Temple

Watching Cao Dai believers pray is the main highlight when visiting the temple. They can wear clothes with different sizes and colors: white, yellow, blue and red. In the temple, men sit on the right and women on the left. They pray in their sacred temple and belief.

The easiest photos are outside, from Tran Hung Dao: the front carries the Eye of God, the Maitreya Buddha on a white tiger and the bell and drum towers. Inside, ask before you take pictures.

What time is the Cao Dai ceremony at the Saigon temple?

Cao Dai worship follows four services a day: midnight, 6:00, noon and 18:00. For a visitor, noon or 18:00 are the realistic choices, and noon is the service described in a photographer’s 2011 account of this temple: a calm hall, with a smaller congregation and fewer photographers than at Tay Ninh. No timetable or visiting hours for this temple are published online, so treat noon as the most likely time to see a service.

Arrive a few minutes before 12:00, take your shoes off and use the side door (see the tips below). If a service is on, keep out of the way of worshippers. No entry fee is published for the temple.

Would you rather see the Holy See in Tay Ninh? The private day tour below goes there and to the Cu Chi Tunnels; it does not stop at the Saigon temple.

Tips on Visiting Cao Dai Temple

To enter the temple, your shoes must be outside. Visitors are not allowed to enter the main door. They must go to the side door, the male to the right, and the female to the left.

No visiting hours are published, so do not count on the hall being open at any time. It is advisable to choose the noon service (12:00) to see the solemn atmosphere of the Cao Dai believers.

Some parts of the hall may be off limits to cameras, so look for signs or ask first, and do not photograph worshippers during a service without their permission.

Because this is a solemn place, you need to pay attention to how to dress appropriately, avoid offensive clothes. Shoes come off at the door, so wear a pair that is easy to slip on and off.

The temple is on the way to Cho Lon. Thien Hau Pagoda is about 2.4 km further west by road, so you can pair the two with a wander around Cho Lon Chinatown.

How to Get to Cao Dai Temple?

From Ben Thanh Market the temple is 3.1–3.5 km by road, a short Grab or taxi ride along Tran Hung Dao. From Tan Son Nhat Airport it is about 10 km.

Heading out from Ben Thanh, city bus 01 (Ben Thanh – Cho Lon bus station) runs along Tran Hung Dao past the temple; on the way back it uses Tran Phu, a few blocks north. You can use this to get there easily, but the route list dates from 2018, so check the current stops in the BusMap app before you go.

For more to see, start with our Ho Chi Minh City guide, or browse Ho Chi Minh City day tours for trips out of the city.

Sources: Resolution 1685/NQ-UBTVQH15 on Ho Chi Minh City’s new wards; OpenStreetMap road distances