Giong Temple has become a spiritual tourist destination attracting many tourists from all over the world long ago. If you find a day trip destination, you should definitely not miss this place.

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1. History of the Giong Temple relic site

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The Giong Temple historical relic site is located on Ve Linh mountain (also known as Soc mountain) in Phu Linh village, Phu Linh commune, Soc Son district, Hanoi. Only about 30 km away from the center of Hanoi, this is one of the most popular places for a day trip.

The origin of Giong Temple historical site is associated with the legend of Saint Giong fighting the An invaders and regaining peace for the country. Saint Giong is considered the Immortal God in Vietnamese culture and beliefs, representing the indomitable spirit, resilience and courage to fight foreign invaders.

The historical relics were originally just a small shrine worshiping Phu Dong Thien Vuong and Non Nuoc pagoda built during the reign of King Dinh Tien Hoang. According to historical records, during the war against the Song army, when King Le Dai Hanh and his army on the way passed the temple worshiping Phu Dong Thien Vuong, the king went to pray to Saint Giong to defeat the Song army and returned peace to the people.

In that battle, the Song army lost miserably and had to withdraw their troops back home. Because of being grateful to the gods, King Le Dai Hanh sent someone to find an agarwood tree and sculpt it into a statue, built a temple to worship the Phu Dong Thien Vuong. The temple was ranked as a national monument in 1962.

Through many years up to now, Giong Temple relic complex has been built into a system that included Trinh Temple, Mau Temple, Non Nuoc Pagoda, Dai Bi Pagoda, Thuong Temple, The Plantation Stone, the Statue of Saint Giong and many steles depict the history and traditions of the Giong Temple festival. There is also a Vietnamese Buddhist Academy near Giong Temple.

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2. How to move to Giong Temple?

Going by bus

The way to Giong Temple is relatively easy to go but it is steep, if you are not confident in your driving ability, you can choose public transport to ensure safety. However, the entrance to Giong Temple is quite far from the bus stop, so you can choose to take a motorbike taxi to reach the relic, otherwise, walking will take a lot of time and make you feel tired. 

From Long Bien transit point, you can choose Bus 15 (Gia Lam - Pho Ni), to the turn to Soc Son complex (with signposts to enter the relic), then get off at the Pho Ni stop right before the last stop. From there to the gate of the relic is about 3km. Entering the relic, you have to walk and climb a lot, so it's best to choose to take a taxi or motorbike taxi from the bus stop to the gate.

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Going by personal vehicle (motorcycle or car)

If you depart from Hanoi, there are 2 routes for you to choose from: 

The direction of following Nhat Tan bridge: You across Nhat Tan bridge, when you see  Highway 5, don't turn but keep going straight until you meet National Highway 18, turn onto Highway 18 for a bit and then turn left onto National Highway 3. Go straight for a bit more and you will see the signpost leading to the relic. 

The direction of following Thang Long bridge: You move in the direction of Thang Long bridge towards Noi Bai airport. At the intersection with National Highway 18, turn into a roundabout behind Noi Bai airport, continue to move in the direction of road 131. When you meet Highway 3, turn left and go one more segment to reach the relic area.

Note: If traveling by motorbike, you should remember to move slowly, install a full rearview mirror and bring documents because at the QL18 section, there are always traffic police standing to check.

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3. The best time to visit Giong Temple

You can go to Giong Temple at any time of the year. The weather in Soc Son is cool, the air is quite fresh, so this is a great choice to enjoy nature combined with spirituality. However, if you want to fully experience and understand the meaning of the relic, you should go to Giong Temple on the occasion of the festival.

Giong Temple Festival takes place on the 6th to 8th of the first lunar month every year. During the 3 days of the festival, the relic will take place full of traditional rituals such as the opening ceremony, the procession, the incense offering ceremony, and the offering of bamboo flowers to the Thuong Temple.

The most important and awaited ritual on the main day of the festival is offering bamboo flowers at Soc Temple (where Giong worships) and cutting enemy general. The bamboo flowers used in the festival are made from bamboo sticks which are about 50cm long, only 1cm in diameter, the top of the bamboo stick is sharpened and dyed. After the flower-offering ceremony, bamboo is released in front of the temple yard for festival-goers to use as a lucky charm for the new year.

With the ceremony to cut enemy generals, the people performing the ritual will cut a statue, reenact the scene that Saint Giong used ivory bamboo to beat the An enemy general .

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4. Exploring Giong Temple

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4.1. Ha Temple (Trinh Temple)

When entering the gate of the relic site, you will immediately see Ha Temple (also known as Trinh Temple) on the left side, outside the temple there is an ancient banyan tree next to a blue lake, under the banyan tree there is a shrine to worshiping sacred objects. The stone is sitting in front of the Temple. Ha Temple worships the god Nua, according to legend, this is the god who allowed Saint Giong to choose this place to fly to heaven. Than Nua is known as "Thanh Than Vuong" by the people, this title is engraved on the hat of a bronze statue worshiping Than Nua.

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4.2. Dai Bi Pagoda

After visiting the Ha Temple, follow the red glazed brick road to Dai Bi Pagoda. Dai Bi Pagoda is a small temple but has a unique architecture, the door is covered with red paint, the dome is curved and then soars into the beautiful blue sky.

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4.3. Mother Goddess Temple

Mother Goddess Temple where the mother of Saint Giong is worshiped is located opposite Dai Bi Pagoda. This is a temple with a small area but extremely sophisticated carvings. Before entering the temple, visitors see the words "Phu Dong Danh Lam Thien Thuong Mau" carved very elaborately, there is a statue of Mother Goddess with a gentle, tolerant and benevolent face painted with gold paint inside the temple.

There is a well with the green color of water in the four seasons outside the temple. However, currently, the relic management board has sealed the well's mouth to prevent people from throwing money into the well.

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4.4. Thuong Temple

From Mother Goddess Temple, go a short distance to Thuong Temple. Thuong Temple is one of the last 4 works located at the foot of Ve Linh mountain, worshiping Saint Giong. In front of the door of Thuong Temple, there is a pair of wooden horses, which represent the iron horses when Saint Giong drives away the enemy. 

In the temple, there is Dai Bai house and Princess Palace, Dai Bai house is decorated with many parallel sentences, golden parasols, purple parasols, double cranes... In the Princess Palace, there is a rather large statue of Saint Giong, made of agarwood. Next to the statue, there are 6 public gods who helped Giong fight the An invaders.

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4.5. Stelae House

The Stelae House here is made entirely of slate. According to the people, the Stelae House has existed for hundreds of years, the solid walls are attached to the top of the cone. Continuing to go deeper, you will pass the Stelae House area and have a way to turn down to Non Nuoc Pagoda.

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4.6. Statue of Saint Giong 

Located on the top of Da Chong mountain with a huge size: 11.07m high, 16m outstretched, 85 tons in weight, the statue of Saint Giong, could be seen from the foot of Ve Linh mountain, stands tall and proud symbolizing the majestic spirit of Giong. 

Started construction in 2008, and inaugurated in 2010, Giong Temple is a typical work selected to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long - Hanoi. The statue is cast in pure copper, re-carving the image of Saint Giong riding a horse and flying to heaven with a majestic and mighty appearance. Today, visitors can travel by motorbike or car along the trail from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain of the statue of Saint Giong.

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4.7. Non Nuoc Pagoda

Non Nuoc pagoda in the past was originally named Soc Thien Vuong Thien Tu with Chinese name, is located at an altitude of 110m above the foot of the mountain. According to feng shui researchers, Non Nuoc Pagoda was built with the position of "Crouching Dragon Hidden Tiger ", leaning against 9 mountains: Mui Cay, Dragon Scale mountain, Da Chong mountain, Da Den mountain, Dong Soc mountain... 

In Non Nuoc Pagoda, there is a statue of Buddha Tathagata cast in monolithic bronze. This is the largest monolithic statue of Buddha Tathagata in Southeast Asia, with a weight of about 30 tons, more than 8m high.

The around area of Giong temple relics site is a cool space, close to nature, so you can bring snacks to picnic with friends. But remember that you must clean up before leaving!

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Source: Collected