When tourists visit HCM City you will see there are a lot of churches, pagodas and mosques sprinkled throughout the city. Most are of the newer variety, there are some pagodas that have stood for hundreds of years. Although older pagodas are spreaded throughout HCM city, a high concentration of them can be found in Cholon, which is the city's Chinatown that is Thien Hau Pagoda.
Thien Hau Pagoda, one of Cholon’s most popular pagodas, is located on the very busy Nguyen Trai street. Although the pagoda itself isn’t the largest or most elaborate in the city, but it is most popular for its amazing incense.
Besides incense the other thing that stands out about Thien Hau are the elaborate dioramas decorated the roof and walls. Created with porcelain in the early 1900s, the dioramas show several different scenes, for exemple duels on horseback and fighting in arenas. lots of characters are displayed, ranging such as dragons, turtles,etc.
The pagoda is dedicated to Thien Hau, a traditional Chinese goddess who is not specifically Buddhist or Taoist. Instead, she is revered by seafaring cultures as having the ability to trip over sea, by mat or cloud, to protect and rescue stranded seafarers. In fact, the pagoda was originally built as an expression of gratitude by 19th century Chinese immigrants for her protection during their initial trip to Saigon by sea.
Address: 710 Nguyen Trai Street, District 5, HCM City.
Source: travelfish.org
