Ngoc Son Temple (Temple of the Jade Mountain) is an ancient temple locates on Ngoc Son island in the northeast of Hoan Kiem Lake. This is a famous tourist attraction for any travellers visiting Hanoi. Below of this writing shows you the openning time and ticket price of visiting Ngoc Son temple.
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The history of Ngoc Son temple
Built in early of 19th century, the historical relic of Ngoc Son temple was originally known as Ngoc Son pagoda, then changed to Ngoc Son temple because it worhips Van Xuong De Quan (God of literature) and Tran Quoc Tuan general (a hero in 13th century of Tran dynasty).
>> See more photos of Ngoc Son temple and Hoan Kiem lake in the past
- When king Ly Thai To move capital to Thang Long (Hanoi) in 1010, he named this temple is Ngoc Tuong.
- In Tran dynasty (14th century), the temple was named as Ngoc Son.
- In 1865, Nguyen Van Sieu repaired the temple as its today. He built stone embankments around the temple. He also built Tran Ba communal house, built a bridge from the East bank to the temple, called The Huc bridge. On the left side of the temple, he built Dai Nghien (Ink Slab). On the East side of Ngoc Boi Mountain, he built Thap But Tower (Pen Tower).
The architecture of Ngoc Son temple
Temple architecture not only represents education and literature but also is considered a peaceful cultural space, evoking the feeling of harmony between man and nature.
Architectural overview The overall architecture of Ngoc Son Temple clearly shows the harmony of religion and culture through thousands of years. Ngoc Son Temple was built in the shape of Tam letter (三). Inside the temple, there are couplets, galleries and extremely sacred decorations.
Thap But Tower (Pen Tower)
On Ngoc Boi mountain, before entering the temple gate, in 1865, famous artist Nguyen Van Sieu built a stone 9-meter-high tower as the shape of a feather pen. On the body of the tower, Nguyen Sieu carved three words “Ta Thien Thanh” with the meaning of “writing on the blue sky”.
Đài Nghiên (Ink Slab)
Besides Pen Tower is stone Ink Slab (Đài Nghiên – the slab to store Chinese ink). Ink and Pen is the symbol of Confucius literature, the symbol of studious tradition of the Vietnamese. Under the Đài Nghiên are 3 stone frogs opening their mouths.
The Huc Bridge
The Huc Bridge is the road to Ngoc Son Temple. The bridge is made of wood in red color. “The Huc” means “place of morning sunlight”. This bridge is like a soft silk on the water of Hoan Kiem lake. It makes colorful scenery for the lake in 4 seasons.
Where to keep Hoan Kiem Turtle body
Giant turtles in Hoan Kiem lake are famous with the legend of king Le Loi (in 15th century). They are called as God bringing luck and health. When they died, their body are kept inside Ngoc Son temple.
Ticket and the open time of Ngoc Son temple
If you only visit The Huc bridge, the ticket is free. But if you want to visit inside the temple you need to buy ticket at price: Adult: 30,000VND, Children: 15,000VND.
The temple opens from 7h00 to 16h00 every day.
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