Sacred 300-year-old pagoda of the Chinese in Saigon

visavietnam.net.vn - Hoi Quan On Lang, also known as On Lang Pagoda, (Vietnamese: Hội Quán Ôn Lăng) was built in the 17th century by Chinese immigrants from Quanzhou in Fujian province. The nearly 300-year old pagoda is now a sacred place of worship for the Chinese community in Ho Chi Minh City’s Cho Lon area.

The pagoda, the largest one of the Chinese community in Ho Chi Minh City, is dedicated to the bodhisattva Quan am (Avalokiteshvara in Sanskrit, Guan Yin). The pagoda is popular among both Vietnamese and Chinese Buddhists. Most of the inscriptions are in Chinese characters, but some labels have been added in Vietnamese.

The spirituality of the pagoda is a mixture of Pure Land Buddhism centered on the figure of Amitabha Buddha, special veneration of the female bodhisattva Quan Am, Taoism, and traditional Chinese religion, the latter including devotion to Thien Hau (the Lady of the Sea) that is typical of traditionally seafaring Chinese communities from Fukien, Canton, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

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