Lang Pagoda, also called Chieu Thien Pagoda, is located on the land of the old Lang Village (present-day Lang Thuong Ward, Dong Da District, Hanoi), 6km west of the city centre. The Pagoda was built in the 12th century under King Ly Anh Tong’s Dynasty (1138-1175) to worship Buddha, King Ly Than Tong (who reigned from 1128 to 1138) and Buddhist monk Tu Dao Hanh – a famous monk during the Ly Dynasty.
According to the legend, Buddhist monk Tu Dao Hanh reached the peak of his holiness and extraordinary magic. He died at Thay Pagoda and then was reincarnated as the son of Sung Hien Hau (younger brother of King Ly Nhan Tong). King Ly Nhan Tong didn’t have a son so he conferred the title of crown prince on Sung Hien Hau’s son who later became King Ly Than Tong. When King Ly Than Tong died, his son, Ly Anh Tong, ordered the construction of Chieu Thien Pagoda in memory of his father.
Lang Pagoda is a large harmonious symmetrical architectural complex with an airy space and has 100 compartments. It was once considered the first pagoda in the west of Thang Long Imperial City.The Pagoda has a three-door gate, large brick-paved path, an octagonal house, the main part of the pagoda, a bell house, a guest house, an ancestor-worshiping house, a mother-worshiping house and a garden of tomb towers. There are a couple of unique stone dragons on the two sides of the stairs leading to the forecourt. The stone stele erected in 1656 was carved with the image of two fairies with their wings spread.
The Pagoda has retained many precious objects of historical and artistic values, such as the stele “Tao Le”, 1.4m high and 0.8m wide, erected in the 4th year of Thinh Duc (1656) with delicate patterns, Phuc Dien stele and 13 others from King Tu Duc’s Dynasty to King Bao Dai’s Dynasty. It has also preserved ancient tablets of the Le, Tay Son and Nguyen dynasties, 30 panels, 31 couplets, a big bell and a great bronze plaque cast in the year of Mau Ngo (1738), etc.
