Do Temple in Bac Ninh | History – Architecture – Festival

Do Temple located in Dinh Bang village, Bac Ninh Province is an ancient temple with unique architecture in the Ly Dynasty. Thanks to its meaningful history and ancient beauty, Do Temple is considered the iconic construction of Vietnamese religion and attracts many tourists every year.

History of Do Temple

King Ly Cong Uan started the Ly Dynasty in 1009 and he brought Vietnam into a new era of independence and prosperity. He also built Thang Long – the capital of Vietnam in 1010 (called Hanoi today). After Ly Cong Uan died in 1028, Ly Thai Tong – his son ascended to the throne and built Do Temple to worship his father. Since then, the temple has become a place to commemorate the kings after death.

In 1952, the temple was demolished by the French in the wartime. It was rebuilt with its original architecture of the 17^th century until 1989.

Architecture of Do Temple

There is a successive lake with clear and full water all the year round in front of the temple. In the center of the lake floats a two-story eight roofed house where water puppet performances are shown. Explore the temple, you will pass through 5 doors made of wood and engraved on top images of dragon flanking the moon which is a symbol of Vietnam temple with a good meaning. The dragons’ eyes when they catch the sunshine look like gemstones. Along the staircase, you can witness two stone dragons with clouds around, which represents the Thang Long Capital.

Passing a large yard, you will see a square house with curved roofs including three compartments. This is a place to worship eight Ly Kings through their statues. They are Ly Thai To, Ly Thai Tong, Ly Thanh Tong, Ly Nhan Tong, Ly Than Tong, Ly Anh Tong, Ly Cao Tong, and Ly Hue Tong. Keep on walking, you will admire the Dragon Temple commemorated Ly Chieu Hoang succeeding the throne at the age of seven in 1224. Due to the small age, King Ly Chieu Hoang passed the throne to her husband Tran Canh in 1225.

The Annual Festival at Do Temple

The Do Temple Festival takes place on the March 15^th, the lunar calendar to honor the Ly Kings. This day remarks an event Ly Cong Uan took the throne and started to build Dai Co Viet (another name of Vietnam at that time).

When coming to Do Temple on this day, you will have a chance to enjoy Quan Ho folk songs – the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, water puppet performances. In addition, the festival also organizes many competitions such as chess, cockfighting, wrestling, etc.