Strolling down the tamarind-shaded residential lanes of Ban Sihom and Ban Haisok in Chanthabouly District on the western side of central Vientiane, just half a kilometer inland from the Mekong River, travelers encounter a traditional triple-arched street gate whose double-tiered curved eaves blend Northern Vietnamese temple carpentry with bright Lao decorative moldings. Stepping across the quiet brick courtyard into the main sanctuary, soft altar lamps illuminate gilded statues of Shakyamuni Buddha and Bodhisattva Manjushri seated majestically atop a golden-maned lion while sandalwood incense rises before the Patriarchs' hall behind.
This is Bang Long Temple (Lao: ວັດບາງລອງ), the first Vietnamese sanctuary formally licensed and built in the capital of Laos and revered for over eighty years as the elder mother-monastery of diaspora Vietnamese Buddhism in Vientiane. Its evocative name fuses Hong Bang (Vietnam's ancient founding era) with Lac Long Quan (the mythic Dragon Lord progenitor), reminding overseas families from northern, central, and southern Laos of mutual care and shared roots.
IThe Name of Hong Bang and Lac Long and Mahayana Devotion in Vientiane
Bang Long Temple follows Northern Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhism in the monastic lineage of the Red River Delta. Inside the main Treasure Hall, gilded statues of Shakyamuni Buddha and the Buddhas of the Three Times preside at the center, flanked by ornate lacquer-and-gilt statues of Manjushri Bodhisattva (crowned with a five-pointed diadem and seated in lotus posture upon a roaring golden-maned lion) and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva atop a six-tusked white elephant, alongside Avalokiteshvara and Ksitigarbha. Directly behind the Buddha sanctuary stands the historic Patriarch Hall, enshrining First Patriarch Bodhidharma together with memorial tablets of the pioneer Vietnamese monks who planted Mahayana Dharma in Laos.
The temple's spiritual identity shines clearest in its two-syllable title, Bang Long. As documented by Nhan Dan and the official portal of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, the 1942 founders joined Bang from the Hong Bang dynasty with Long from Lac Long Quan, weaving Buddhist compassion together with the Vietnamese moral tradition of ancestor veneration. Passing beneath that name on foreign soil called every migrant family to live in solidarity as children of the same ancestral origin.
Living at the heart of Theravada Buddhist Vientiane, Bang Long Temple has cultivated a warm two-way fellowship between Northern Mahayana and Lao Theravada traditions. Resident monks uphold the liturgical discipline and scriptural translation heritage of Kim Lien Ancestral Monastery in Ninh Binh while participating as respected members of the Lao Buddhist Fellowship Organization. During annual patriarchal memorial assemblies in the temple courtyard, saffron-robed Lao Theravada monks and brown-and-yellow-robed Vietnamese Mahayana monks stand shoulder to shoulder in the traditional dawn Tak Bat alms-round, offering a living image of harmony between the two sanghas.
Archival records show that Bang Long Temple was born directly out of northern Vietnam's early-twentieth-century Buddhist revival centered in Hanoi. Between 1938 and 1942, overseas Vietnamese Buddhist lay leaders in Vientiane led by Trinh Van Phu (President of the Overseas Vietnamese Buddhist Association of Vientiane) and Do Dinh Tao purchased the Ban Sihom plot and drew up temple plans under the direct spiritual witness and guidance of Most Venerable Thich To Lien of Quan Su Pagoda in Hanoi. Once construction received formal approval in 1942 from the King of Laos, the Viceroy of Laos, and the French Governor-General of Indochina, the Northern Vietnamese Sangha dispatched two senior elders, Most Venerable Thich Dai Bai and Most Venerable Thich Dai Hai, across the mountains to serve as Bang Long's founding abbots.
Readers comparing histories of overseas Vietnamese pagodas in Laos sometimes wonder how Bang Long's 1942 date relates to older 1930s foundations in the provinces. Regional context makes both facts clear: smaller migrant communities in central and southern Laos raised early sanctuaries in the 1930s (such as Bao Quang and Dieu Giac in Savannakhet in 1932 and the thatched hermitage of Trang Nghiem in Pakse in 1938). Within the capital city of Vientiane, however, and as an officially chartered central monastery gathering Vietnamese Buddhists from Upper, Central, and Lower Laos alike, Bang Long Temple (1942) stands first.
IIOver Eighty Years of Dharma Transmission Across Five Generations of Abbots
Across more than eight decades, the chronicle of Bang Long Temple mirrors the resilience of Vientiane's Vietnamese community and the lifelong dedication of missionary monks from northern Vietnam.
- 1938 to 1942Petitioning, royal approval, and completion of the Patriarch HallInitiated in 1938 by Trinh Van Phu and Do Dinh Tao under the guidance of Venerable Thich To Lien (Quan Su Pagoda, Hanoi), the project won formal approval in 1942 from the King of Laos, the Viceroy, and the Governor-General of Indochina, completing its Patriarch Hall in late 1942.
- 1945Full inauguration and arrival of first-generation abbotsOvercoming wartime scarcity, the full monastery was inaugurated in 1945 as Bang Long Temple under founding co-abbots Most Venerable Thich Dai Bai and Most Venerable Thich Dai Hai before a ten-year wartime vacancy (1945 to 1954).
- 1955 to 1969Postwar revival under Venerable Thich Nhat LienIn 1955 founder Trinh Van Phu and Vientiane laypeople petitioned the Vietnamese Sangha, welcoming Venerable Thich Nhat Lien as abbot from 1956 to 1969 and restoring Bang Long as a nationwide gathering center.
- 1969 to 2003Golden era of fourth-generation Abbot Most Venerable Thich Trung QuanBorn Vu Thanh Quat in Nam Dinh in 1918 and ordained at Kim Lien Monastery in Ninh Binh, Most Venerable Thich Trung Quan arrived in Laos in 1959 and served as abbot from 1969 until his passing on April 1, 2003, revered as supreme spiritual leader of Vietnamese Buddhism across Laos.
- September 12, 2014Appointment of Most Venerable Thich Tho Lac as fifth-generation abbotFollowing an eleven-year vacancy after 2003, the Central Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha appointed Most Venerable Thich Tho Lac (head of the Kim Lien monastic lineage and dharma brother of the late Thich Trung Quan) as fifth abbot.
- 2017 to presentInternal harmony, legal residency accords, and Viet-Lao scholarship drivesWith diplomatic coordination between the Vietnamese Embassy, the Lao Ministry of Public Security (granting official monastic residency permits in April 2019), and the Lao Buddhist Fellowship, Bang Long thrives as a peaceful cultural and charitable hub.
Ambassador Nguyen Ba Hung's study in Vietnamese Buddhist Culture candidly documents the institutional challenges faced by diaspora temples when resident clergy were interrupted after Most Venerable Thich Trung Quan's passing in 2003: differing lay management habits led to prolonged internal disagreements that were resolved consensually by 2017 through joint mediation by the Embassy, Lao religious authorities, and the General Association of Vietnamese in Laos. Formal diplomatic notes in April 2019 subsequently secured renewable Lao residency permits for resident Vietnamese monks led by Most Venerable Thich Tho Lac.
IIIDouble-Tiered Northern Eaves, Gilded Lion Thrones, and Subtle Lao Accents
Situated in the lively urban neighborhood of Ban Haisok near Souphanouvong Avenue, Bang Long Temple was commended by the 2019 bilateral sangha survey as one of the best-maintained, cleanest, and most dignified Vietnamese temples in Laos. Its ground plan follows the classic Northern Vietnamese Buddha-in-front, Patriarchs-behind axial sequence: a three-arched street gate opens onto a broad brick courtyard, leading up to the main Three Jewels Sanctuary and the historic Patriarch Hall at the rear.
Architecturally, the compound conducts a quiet dialogue with its host city. While the main hall preserves double-tiered Northern Vietnamese curved roofs, dragon ridge ornaments, and traditional red-and-gold lacquer statuary, exterior parapet trim and stupa moldings echo the warm golden palette of classic Vientiane monasteries such as Wat Si Saket.
Greets visitors along the Ban Haisok lane with three arched portals beneath a two-tiered curved-roof belfry crowned by twin dragons flanking the flaming pearl and couplets honoring Hong Bang and Lac Long Quan.
Showcases Northern Vietnamese lacquer-and-gold-leaf sacred sculpture, highlighted by the richly carved statue of Bodhisattva Manjushri seated in serene contemplation upon a golden-maned lion.
Positioned behind the main sanctuary on the footprint of the temple's earliest 1942 building, housing altars to Bodhidharma, witnessing elder Thich To Lien, founding abbots, and late Patriarch Thich Trung Quan.
A spacious tree-shaded forecourt centered on a white standing Avalokiteshvara statue on a lotus pedestal, providing open ground for joint Lao-Vietnamese Tak Bat alms offerings and Mid-Autumn children's lantern festivities.
Preserves Mahayana translations and study texts compiled since the tenure of Most Venerable Thich Trung Quan alongside spaces for Dharma retreats and annual Viet-Lao student scholarship ceremonies.
| Feature | Specifications and facts | Verified source |
|---|---|---|
| Initiation and inauguration | Proposed 1938, licensed and Patriarch Hall built 1942, inaugurated 1945 | Vietnam Buddhist Sangha Portal (phatgiao.org.vn), Nhan Dan |
| Lay founders and clerical witness | Trinh Van Phu and Do Dinh Tao, witnessed by Most Ven. Thich To Lien | Nhan Dan Online (nhandan.vn) |
| Urban location | Ban Sihom and Ban Haisok, Chanthabouly District, Vientiane | Nhan Dan, OpenStreetMap survey |
| Monastic Dharma lineage | Kim Lien Ancestral Monastery (Dong Dac Pagoda, Ninh Binh), Northern Mahayana | Nhan Dan, phatgiao.org.vn |
| Current fifth-generation abbot | Most Venerable Thich Tho Lac (appointed September 12, 2014) | phatgiao.org.vn, Vietnamese Buddhist Culture |
IVThe Lie of the Land
Founders Trinh Van Phu and Do Dinh Tao purchased the Sihom-Haisok plot in 1942 primarily because western Chanthabouly was home to the densest neighborhood of Vietnamese craftspeople and riverfront traders in Vientiane. Read comparatively through the library's traditional East Asian landform lens, the eighty-year-old compound occupies a sheltered and auspicious urban pocket.
Situated at coordinates 17.96873 degrees north, 102.60177 degrees east in Ban Haisok (adjoining Ban Sihom), Chanthabouly District, Bang Long Temple stands roughly 500 meters northeast of the Mekong River bank on the western side of downtown Vientiane. Along this reach, the Mekong descends from the northwest and curves smoothly southeastward, placing the neighborhood inside the gentle embracing arc of the river bend (an alluvial inner-bank position traditionally prized in riverine landform lore for gathering calm vitality rather than suffering outer-bank erosion).
Surrounded on all four sides by low-rise residential lanes that buffer seasonal monsoon gusts, the triple-arched street gate opens inward onto a generous, sunlit brick forecourt functioning as a tranquil inner bright hall. Proceeding axially from the street gate past the outdoor Avalokiteshvara shrine into the elevated main sanctuary and secluded rear Patriarch Hall creates a progressive hush that insulates contemplative life from nearby commercial avenues.
VThe Second-Month Patriarchal Memorial, Joint Scholarships, and Annual Feasts
Alongside the major Vietnamese lunar calendar festivals shared by overseas Vietnamese pagodas across Laos (Lunar New Year, Vesak, and Ullambana), Bang Long Temple celebrates a signature annual memorial at the close of the second lunar month uniting Vietnamese and Lao monastics, diplomats, and families.
| Date | Calendar system | Observance | Ritual and community fellowship at Bang Long Temple |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30th day of the 2nd lunar month (late March) | Vietnamese lunar calendar | Annual Memorial Day of Late Fourth Abbot Most Venerable Thich Trung Quan | Vietnamese and Lao monks join in a traditional Tak Bat alms ceremony across the courtyard, chant memorial sutras, and award equal numbers of study scholarships to disadvantaged overseas Vietnamese children and poor Lao schoolchildren. |
| Lunar New Year and 15th day of the 1st month | Lunar calendar | Lunar New Year Ancestral Homage and First Full Moon Peace Prayer | Expatriate families gather to bow before the Patriarchs, enroll household names in New Year peace petitions, and share Northern Vietnamese vegetarian dishes. |
| 15th day of the 4th to 15th day of the 7th month | Lunar calendar | Buddha's Birthday, Summer Rains Retreat, and Ullambana Filial Festival | Bathing-of-the-Buddha rites, summer scripture study courses, and seventh-full-moon filial piety assemblies honoring parents and departed ancestors. |
| 15th day of the 8th month | Lunar calendar | Mid-Autumn Children's Lantern Night | Star lanterns, lion dances, and mooncake gifts fill the temple forecourt for Vietnamese-Lao neighborhood children. |
An elder village pagoda preserved in western downtown Vientiane. While Phat Tich Temple in Xaysettha District rises as a vertical seven-story landmark rebuilt in 2010, Bang Long Temple in Chanthabouly preserves the quiet horizontal intimacy of an eighty-year-old Northern Vietnamese community pagoda. Its longstanding custom of dividing annual memorial scholarships equally between Vietnamese diaspora pupils and neighboring Lao children exemplifies the fraternal spirit inscribed in its founding name.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Ban Haisok, Chanthabouly District, Vientiane Capital, Laos
- Getting there
- Bang Long Temple stands in the historic Sihom-Haisok quarter (Ban Haisok), Chanthabouly District, on the western side of central Vientiane near Souphanouvong Avenue and the Sihom night market, about 500 meters inland from the Mekong riverfront and roughly 1.5 kilometers northwest of Wat Si Saket. It is a pleasant 15-minute walk or 5-minute tuk-tuk ride from Nam Phou Fountain by asking for Wat Bang Long in Ban Haisok.
- Coordinates
- 17.96873, 102.60177
Bang Long Temple sits inside a quiet residential neighborhood of Ban Haisok and Ban Sihom, maintaining a serene, unhurried atmosphere. Visitors should dress modestly covering shoulders and knees, park vehicles neatly without blocking neighborhood lanes, and remove footwear before entering the Main Sanctuary and rear Patriarch Hall. Those visiting in late March around the lunar memorial of Most Venerable Thich Trung Quan may bring offerings of sticky rice or fruit to join local Vietnamese and Lao devotees in the morning Tak Bat alms ceremony.
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?Quick Questions
What does the name Bang Long Temple signify?
As recorded by Nhan Dan and the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, Bang refers to Vietnam's legendary Hong Bang founding era and Long refers to the ancestral Dragon Lord Lac Long Quan. The 1942 founders chose the name so overseas Vietnamese in Laos would always remember their shared roots and support one another.
When was Bang Long Temple founded and who initiated its construction?
Proposed in 1938 by the Overseas Vietnamese Buddhist Association of Vientiane led by Trinh Van Phu and Do Dinh Tao under the spiritual witness of Most Venerable Thich To Lien (Quan Su Pagoda, Hanoi), the temple received formal approval in 1942, completed its Patriarch Hall late that year, and was inaugurated in 1945.
Why is Most Venerable Thich Trung Quan so deeply revered at Bang Long Temple?
Born in Nam Dinh in 1918 and ordained at Kim Lien Monastery in Ninh Binh, Most Venerable Thich Trung Quan arrived in Laos in 1959 and served as fourth abbot of Bang Long from 1969 until his death in 2003, translating scriptures, leading retreats, and guiding the restoration of Vietnamese pagodas across Laos.
Who serves as the current abbot of Bang Long Temple?
On September 12, 2014, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha appointed Most Venerable Thich Tho Lac (Head of the Central Cultural Board of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and head of the Kim Lien monastic lineage, dharma brother of the late Thich Trung Quan) as fifth-generation abbot.
How does Bang Long Temple bring Vietnamese and Lao communities together each year?
During the annual memorial of Most Venerable Thich Trung Quan at the end of the second lunar month, Lao Theravada and Vietnamese Mahayana monks perform a joint Tak Bat alms ceremony in the courtyard and present equal numbers of scholarships to underprivileged Vietnamese diaspora students and Lao children.