Tay An Pagoda, Chua Doc

Situated at the foot of the 230-meter-tall Sam Mountain and six kilometers west of the town of Chau Doc lies the pagoda of Tay An. With a mixture of Vietnamese and Indian architectural styles, the pagoda was constructed in 1847 and had an extensive upgrade in 1958.

Legend says that one night, a local politician named Doan Uan could not fall asleep. He walked to a guard tower in An Giang Castle in Chau Doc town and looked up into the sky. He saw a cloud of five colors rising from the base of Sam Mountain, and inside the cloud was a Bodhisattva with a holy appearance. Behind the Bodhisattva were male and female believers singing prayers for a bountiful rice crop. Soon after, a pagoda with brick walls, green stone floors, and red tiles was constructed, facing east in honor of the vision and hoping to make it come true.

The front of the pagoda, with its oval dome, was designed in a style similar to Indian temples. However, the pagoda's interior follows the style of traditional Vietnamese Buddhist pagodas. Upon entering the pagoda, visitors see a large statue called the Mother Holding Child Statue and two statues of elephants. In the Western Corridor are two statues of the Goddess of Mercy, and inside the corridor are statues of a deity known as A Di Da. The pagoda's Dai Hong Bell was made of gold and copper during Tu Duc's reign and is now over 100 years old. More than 100 other statues are found throughout the pagoda. Rooms for monks are located at the back of the pagoda.