Tran Quoc Pagoda, Hanoi: History and Visiting Tips for the Pagoda on West Lake

Tran Quoc Pagoda sits on a small islet on the eastern side of West Lake, joined to the shore by a short path. Its tall lotus stupa draws many photographers, but this is first of all a working Buddhist pagoda, with roots that, by tradition, reach back about fifteen centuries.

Why Tran Quoc Pagoda matters

According to tradition, the pagoda was founded in the mid-sixth century, under King Lý Nam Đế and the state of Vạn Xuân. It first stood on land by the Red River and was called Khai Quốc, “founding the nation”. In the fifteenth century King Lê Thái Tông renamed it An Quốc.

When the riverbank land gave way in the early seventeenth century, the pagoda was moved to Kim Ngư, the Golden Fish islet in West Lake. The islet already had a royal history: it had been the site of a Lý-dynasty palace and later a Trần-dynasty one. For a time the pagoda could only be reached by boat. After a dyke was built between West Lake and Trúc Bạch Lake, the line of today’s Thanh Niên Road, local villagers added new halls and a path linking the pagoda to the dyke. It was in the seventeenth century that it took its present name, Trấn Quốc, “guarding the nation”.

The pagoda is also tied to Buddhist history. Old records link it to the monk Khuông Việt in the tenth century and to Thảo Đường, who took charge of the pagoda in the eleventh century and founded a Buddhist school named after him. In the colonial era French scholars of the École française d’Extrême-Orient studied it closely, and in 1962 it was among the first sites ranked as national historic relics.

What you will see

• The main halls. The front hall, incense hall and upper hall are joined in a plan shaped like the Chinese character 工, with a bell tower behind them and buildings for the ancestor monks and for steles on either side.
• The statues. The pagoda keeps a fairly complete set of statues, including the Three Sages, the pagoda’s ancestor monks and a reclining Buddha entering Nirvana, a form seldom seen in pagodas in the north of Vietnam.
• The steles. Fourteen stone steles record how the pagoda was built and repaired over the centuries.
• The lotus stupa. Built in 1998, the eleven-storey stupa has small arched niches on every level, each holding a statue of Amitābha Buddha. It is a modern addition, not part of the old pagoda.
• The bodhi tree. In March 1959 India’s President Rajendra Prasad gave the pagoda a bodhi tree grown from the tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment.

Local tip The lotus stupa is the part most people photograph, but take time inside the halls too. The reclining Buddha and the steles say more about the pagoda’s long history than the new tower does.

Visiting respectfully

Many people come here to pray, especially on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month and on Lunar New Year’s Eve, when ceremonies are held. As at any pagoda in Vietnam, covered shoulders and knees are the respectful choice, voices should stay low, and you should step around people who are praying rather than in front of them. Ask before photographing monks or worshippers, and follow any signs or instructions from the pagoda’s staff.

When to go

The pagoda receives visitors and worshippers every day, but we could not find officially published opening hours, and travel listings disagree on them. Daytime visits on an ordinary weekday are the simplest choice. Ceremony days and the Lunar New Year season are likely to be busier with worshippers, which can be a moving sight.

Getting there

The pagoda is reached from Thanh Niên Road in Tây Hồ, the road that runs between West Lake and Trúc Bạch Lake. A taxi or ride-hailing car from the Old Quarter is the easiest option.

Combining it with nearby sights

Thanh Niên Road makes a pleasant walk with water on both sides. From there it is a short ride to Ba Đình, where you can visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum area, the One Pillar Pagoda and the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long.