Phat Tich pagoda or "Van Phuc Tu" located on halfway of Phat Tich mountain side, in Phat Tich commune, Tien Du district, Bac Ninh province. The pagoda was built from the 7th century to the 10th century. It is the national cultural and historical relics and has maintained ancient souvenirs of Buddhism in large and diversified number.

Being on side of the mountain, surrounded by pine forests and fruit-tree gardens, Phat Tich pagoda contains mysterious and poetic features. As recorded in ancient documents, Phat Tich Pagoda was built in the 7th century. In 1947 the pagoda was destroyed by the French imperialists and since 1954, the pagoda has been restored many times.

The pagoda now maintains a large forecourt to receive guests, a Buddha worshipping hall and Holly-Mother worshipping hall. At the rear of the pagoda is a garden with 32 towers of different sizes that were built with bricks and stones in the 17th century.
The pagoda still preserves a set of precious stone statues of the Ly Dynasty with a Buddha statue, 1.85m in height. It is the oldest in the North and is considered a national treasure.

Among the remaining sculptures of the pagoda are five pairs of animal statues, including lions, rhinos, elephants, buffaloes and horses, lying on lotus pedestals carved out of large stones that were also recognized as the largest stone animal pairs in Vietnam.
Trekking up about 200 stone steps, visitors can also see a giant stone statue of Buddha on the peak of Phat Tich Mountain, which took three years to build. The statue is 27m tall and weighs 3,000 tons, making it one of the largest stone statues in Southeast Asia.

Annually, on the forth day of lunar Holidays, people living around Phat Tich pagoda always hold festival to commemorate services of predecessors, who built and improved the pagoda. On those happy days of the spring, visitors in everywhere come to make offerings to Buddha, pick peony flowers, enjoy landscape in Kinh Bac region and attend games in the festivals such as wrestling, playing chess, swinging, and duo of love songs...
|