Crossing a small stone bridge and a level courtyard, visitors meet the first temple hall resting right at the foot of the mountain, with curved roof blades and weathered tiles. Looking up, the second hall is nowhere in sight because it sits higher up, blending into the colors of rock and foliage. To reach it, one must climb stone steps cut directly into the cliff face.
Bích Động Pagoda is not laid out across a flat ground plane like most temples in northern Vietnam, but stacked by elevation as three tiers along a vertical axis against the slope of Ngũ Nhạc Mountain. This is a Northern Buddhist (Phật giáo Bắc tông) temple, the Mahayana tradition of the Red River delta, yet the way its structures interlock with the limestone massif is closer to a cave temple than a freestanding timber monastery. That half-built, half-natural character is the most remarkable feature of the site.
INames and Buddhist lineage
According to Buddhist research and heritage accounts, before receiving its present name, the small temple on the mountain was called Bạch Ngọc Thạch Sơn Đồng, meaning a stone temple pure and white as jade in the mountain wilds. Later the site was renamed Bích Động, meaning Green Grotto or Jade-Green Cavern, after the hue of the stone and trees on the cliff face. Because those two characters were bestowed by a visiting ruler and carved straight into the rock, the name here has a clearer provenance than at most ancient pagodas.
Alongside the temple name is the honorific title Nam thiên đệ nhị động, meaning the Second Most Scenic Grotto Under the Southern Sky, ranked right after Hương Tích Grotto at Hương Pagoda. That title shows that historical literati viewed this site as a scenic mountain grotto rather than solely a place of worship.
In terms of lineage, the pagoda belongs to Northern Buddhism (Phật giáo Bắc tông), or Mahayana, which accounts for the vast majority of pagodas in the Red River delta. The hallmark of this tradition is immediately visible in the sanctuary layout, where multiple Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are venerated together rather than Shakyamuni Buddha alone.
According to research and heritage records, the Lower Pagoda (Chùa Hạ) houses the first Buddhist altars ranging from the Buddhas of the Three Times (Tam Thế), Maitreya (Di Lặc), and the infant Shakyamuni to the Four Bodhisattvas, the Ten Kings of Hell (Thập Điện Diêm Vương), and the Four Dharma Ladies (Tứ Pháp). The Middle Pagoda (Chùa Trung) halfway up the mountain consists of a three-bay front hall and a three-bay upper sanctuary set deep inside a rock recess, worshipping Shakyamuni Buddha (Phật Thích Ca Mâu Ni) framed by nine dragons in the center, flanked by Bodhisattvas Manjushri (Văn Thù) and Samantabhadra (Phổ Hiền), Ananda (Thánh Hiền), and the Venerable Benefactor (Đức Ông), with the Buddhas of the Three Times and the Western Pure Land Triad (Tây Phương Tam Thánh) above, plus a Mother Goddess shrine (Điện Mẫu) dedicated to Holy Mother Liễu Hạnh to the left. Above the Middle Pagoda lies the Dark Cave (Động Tối), which houses stone statues of Amitabha Buddha (Phật A Di Đà) along with Bodhisattva Manjushri and Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Quán Thế Âm). At the very top stands the Upper Pagoda (Chùa Thượng, also called Chùa Đông or Eastern Pagoda), dedicated to Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara and flanked by two small shrines to the Mountain Spirit (Sơn Thần) on the north wing (left) and the Earth Deity (Thổ Địa) on the south wing (right). Venerating mountain and earth spirits beside Buddhist altars is a familiar practice in Vietnamese pagodas.
The person who bestowed the name Bích Động was Lord Trịnh Sâm. According to the heritage dossier of the Department of Cultural Heritage, the lord ordered the two characters Bích Động carved into the cliff face in 1774, while several Buddhist and travel accounts record the Quý Tỵ year 1773. Because the two dates differ by a single year, the library records both for reference. Beside the two large Bích Động characters measuring about 1.5 meters tall on the cliff at the Middle Pagoda are two smaller carved lines reading Nhật Nam Nguyên chủ bút (authored by Nhật Nam Nguyên, the sobriquet of Lord Trịnh Sâm) and Nguyễn Nghiễm phụng đề (respectfully inscribed by Grand Chancellor Xuân Quận công Nguyễn Nghiễm, father of the great poet Nguyễn Du). According to a study in Giác Ngộ newspaper, artisans spent roughly eight months chiseling those characters into the high rock wall.
In that era, touring mountains, naming places, composing poems, and carving inscriptions onto cliff faces was a well-established custom among literati and rulers. The two characters carved into stone served both as praise for the landscape and as a permanent mark that this site was known far beyond the local village.
Two common misconceptions deserve clarification from historical sources.
First, the word động (grotto) in the pagoda's name does not mean the entire temple sits inside a cave. Only part of the complex is a cavern, as the Middle Pagoda has its rear half recessed into the cliff and its front half projecting outward, with the Dark Cave above it and Xuyên Thủy water cave beneath the mountain base, whereas both the Lower Pagoda and Upper Pagoda are timber halls resting on open-air stone foundations. In classical usage, the word động referred to the entire cavern-bearing mountain massif.
Second, Nam thiên đệ nhị động is not an official administrative grade assigned by a government agency. It is a literary encomium belonging to a well-known triad of grotto titles in premodern texts, where the First Grotto (đệ nhất động) refers to Hương Tích Grotto. Official heritage ranking is a separate matter, under which the pagoda belongs to the Tràng An - Tam Cốc - Bích Động scenic landscape complex.
IIFrom a small mountain hermitage to three pagoda tiers
The history of this site can be summed up in a single arc, beginning with a small hermitage on the mountain before two monks arrived, discovered the caverns, and transformed an isolated retreat into three pagoda tiers stacked by elevation. That expansion took place around the turn of the 18th century, the chronological layer of nearly everything visitors see today.
- 1428First mountain hermitageHeritage records place the initial founding in the early Posterior Lê dynasty under the name Bạch Ngọc Thạch Sơn Đồng, when the site was only a small shrine on the mountain.
- Early 18th centuryTwo founding monks expand the pagodaTwo monks, Trí Kiên and Trí Thể, arrived here, discovered the cave system inside the mountain, and raised funds to rebuild the site into three separate pagodas (Lower, Middle, and Upper) on three levels. Sources give the exact year as either 1695 or 1705.
- 1707Casting of the bronze bellThe two founding monks cast a large bronze bell in the 3rd year of Vĩnh Thịnh under King Lê Dụ Tông, now hung inside the Dark Cave, representing the most securely dated artifact of the complex.
- 1709Erection of the stone steleA Chinese-script stone stele was erected in the 5th year of Vĩnh Thịnh recording the reconstruction of Bích Động Pagoda.
- 1773 or 1774Lord Trịnh Sâm names Bích ĐộngLord Trịnh Sâm visited the pagoda, bestowed the name Bích Động, and commissioned Grand Chancellor Nguyễn Nghiễm to oversee the carving of the characters onto the Middle Pagoda cliff face, a chiseling project that took about eight months.
- 2012Special national heritage siteThe Tràng An - Tam Cốc - Bích Động scenic landscape was designated a special national heritage site under Decision No. 548/QĐ-TTg dated May 10, 2012.
- 2014UNESCO World Heritage inscriptionThe Tràng An Landscape Complex, which encompasses the Bích Động area, was inscribed by UNESCO as a mixed cultural and natural World Heritage site.
Three points where sources diverge are stated here directly.
The year of expansion into three pagodas. An article in the Buddhist studies journal records that the two monks Trí Kiên and Trí Thể (natives of Vọng Nguyệt village in Bắc Ninh and Đồng Đội village in former Nam Định) expanded the pagoda in 1695, whereas Giác Ngộ newspaper and several other sources record 1705 under King Lê Dụ Tông. The library's index table uses the 1705 milestone. Both dates precede the 1707 bell casting so there is no contradiction in sequence, though the ten-year gap remains unresolved in published records.
The visiting Lê king. Accounts recount that a Lê dynasty king visited the site, admired the scenery, saw that the temple was only a modest hermitage, and authorized donations for its reconstruction. Some sources name King Lê Hiển Tông, while others name King Lê Dụ Tông or associate the story with the Cảnh Hưng reign.
The number of stone steps. From the Lower Pagoda up to the Middle Pagoda, sources vary between 78 steps, roughly 90 steps, and 120 stone steps along the mountain slope. From the Middle Pagoda passing beneath Giải Oan Bridge up to the Dark Cave is 21 or 22 stone steps, and from the Middle Pagoda up to the Upper Pagoda is recorded as 40, 43, or 45 steps. These differences stem from whether one counts from the very foot of the mountain or along individual steep segments where natural rock ledges alternate with laid stone steps.
IIIThree pagoda tiers and the Dark Cave
The entire complex is arranged in the shape of the Sino-Vietnamese character Tam (Three), meaning three horizontal strokes stacked one above another, consisting of three independent buildings that share neither roofs nor walls, set at three elevations on the slope of Ngũ Nhạc Mountain. This vertical arrangement contrasts sharply with the inner-Công outer-Quốc (nội công ngoại quốc) layout of lowland northern pagodas, where halls enclose a rectangular courtyard on flat ground. Here there is no built enclosure at all, because the enclosure is the mountain massif itself.
The building materials remain those of traditional Vietnamese pagodas, with ironwood (gỗ lim) columns and tie beams, tiled roofs without a central ridge beam, and upturned eaves curving like sword blades (lưỡi đao). What is distinctive is how those timber frames interlock directly with the limestone cliff.
The first tier, a five-bay hall built on a raised stone terrace at the foot of the mountain in an inverted-T (chữ Đinh) plan, using gong-stand (giá chiêng) trusses and eight monolithic stone columns over four meters tall.
An S-shaped stone stairway winding along the cliffside (recorded as 78, 90, or 120 steps depending on the starting point), causing visitors to lose sight of the Lower Pagoda before the Middle Pagoda comes into view.
The second tier halfway up the mountain, half recessed into the rock cavern and half open-air with a two-tier, six-blade roof. Carved high on the cliff face are the two characters Bích Động (about 1.5 meters tall) alongside inscriptions by Trịnh Sâm and Nguyễn Nghiễm.
Climbing 21 or 22 stone steps from the Middle Pagoda front hall and passing under Giải Oan Bridge leads into the Dark Cave (Động Tối). The spacious cavern houses the 1707 bronze bell and stone statues of Amitabha Buddha, Manjushri, and Avalokiteshvara.
The topmost tier facing southeast at an elevation of nearly sixty meters, dedicated to Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. Flanking it are shrines to the Mountain Spirit and Earth Deity, with a Nectar Basin (bể nước Cam Lộ) beside the hall.
The pagoda preserves a Chinese-script stele erected in 1709 recording restoration work. Beneath the mountain base runs Xuyên Thủy Cave, a dark, flat-ceilinged water cavern about 350 meters long curving in a semicircle from east to west.
Two architectural points deserve reflection. First, the pathway itself is part of the architecture. At a flatland temple, worshippers walk straight along a single axis and see the destination from the gate, whereas here each flight of stone steps bends around the rock face, revealing the next pagoda tier only after a climb is completed. Second is the division of roles by elevation, as the Lower Pagoda at the base receives the largest crowds, the Middle Pagoda serves as the threshold into the living rock, and the Upper Pagoda at the summit is the smallest and airiest, forming a progression from bustle to stillness.
IVThe lie of the land and orientation
This section presents the library's reading through the lens of traditional feng shui, not content recorded on the 1709 stele or in official heritage dossiers. It is longer than in other entries because Bích Động is one of the rare places where the lie of the land displays all four elements demanded by classical geomancy manuals, namely a real mountain to sit against, a cavern within the mountain, water in front, and an encircling ring of peaks.
First, the backrest is a real mountain. Across the Red River delta, where there are no mountains to lean against, builders had to use dikes, earth mounds, or broad bodies of water as substitutes. At Bích Động no substitute is needed, because all three pagoda tiers sit directly against the limestone massif of Ngũ Nhạc Mountain, making the backrest hill (hậu chẩm) tall, continuous, and immovable. Because rainwater gradually dissolves karst limestone, such mountains are honeycombed with caves, fissures, and underground streams, which classical geomancy texts call a mountain with inner organs (núi có tạng), meaning a mountain hollow within.
Second, the cavern inside the mountain is read as a chamber that stores qi. According to classical geomancy, an auspicious node (huyệt) is a spot where qi gathers (tụ khí) without dispersing, and nothing holds qi more securely than an enclosed chamber inside solid rock. Because the Dark Cave sits right at the center of the vertical axis of the three pagodas, traditional reading places that cavern in the role of the central palace (trung cung), the heart of the lie of the land. Hanging the 1707 bronze bell inside the cavern rather than in an outdoor belfry reinforces this reading, as the bell's sound travels outward from the heart of the mountain just like qi.
Third, a vertical axis replaces a horizontal axis. Lowland northern pagodas channel qi along a horizontal ground axis, whereas here that axis is stood upright through the Lower Pagoda, Middle Pagoda, Dark Cave, and Upper Pagoda. Classical geomancy treats elevation as hierarchy, making the vertical progression immediately legible. Notably, the shrines to the Mountain Spirit and Earth Deity stand at the uppermost tier beside the Upper Pagoda rather than at the foot of the hill, because height here is read according to physical terrain, placing the mountain spirit near the mountain peak.
Fourth, orientation and the bright hall. The main sanctuaries face southeast toward lotus ponds, rice paddies, and open water, providing a level expanse right before the entrance where qi can settle before entering, known in classical manuals as the bright hall (minh đường). The bright hall here is of a rare kind, being not a man-made courtyard but an entire karst basin of flooded fields and waterways. The Upper Pagoda adds an unobstructed view over foreground barriers, a quality the lower bright hall at the mountain base cannot offer.
Fifth, the encircling ring of Ngũ Nhạc peaks. Looking out from the Upper Pagoda reveals five independent limestone peaks, namely Tầm Sặng, Gia Định, Con Lợn, Đầu Cầu, and Hang Dựa mountains, facing toward Bích Động Mountain in the center like five petals of a blooming lotus, collectively called Ngũ Nhạc Sơn (Five Sacred Peaks). In classical geomancy, multiple peaks bowing toward a central point form an enclosed basin that retains qi. The lotus shape is more than a poetic simile, because in Buddhism the lotus symbolizes purity rising unstained from mud, so setting a pagoda inside a lotus-shaped ring of peaks places the sanctuary inside the physical emblem of its own teaching, a condition geomancy calls attaining rightful placement (đắc vị).
Sixth, natural flaws and how early builders compensated for them. Classical geomancy manuals never praise a site as flawless. The steep cliffside terrain deprives the temple of a single broad courtyard to gather crowds, so early builders compensated by dividing the complex into three tiers. Another flaw is dampness, as timber halls leaning against karst rock are constantly exposed to water seeping from the mountain, so the structures are kept open and positioned where seepage runs down the rock face rather than pooling around the column bases.
Seventh, regional position and the subterranean water vein. Directly beneath the foot of Bích Động Mountain runs Xuyên Thủy Cave, an underground water cavern about 350 meters long piercing through the limestone massif and connecting with the wider Tam Cốc - Tràng An water landscape. Premodern observers recognized in their own terms what geology later described differently, that this entire karst block is hollowed out by water so that every spot combines mountain, cavern, and stream. In classical geomancy, such terrain is prized as land with a living vein (đất có mạch).
VRituals and lunar calendar observances
Bích Động Pagoda does not hold a multi-day village communal festival with palanquin processions like local spirit temples, but follows the Northern Buddhist ritual calendar, observing fixed lunar dates throughout the year. Because the Upper Pagoda is dedicated to Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, observances tied to this Bodhisattva receive special attention.
| Lunar date | Observance | Activities |
|---|---|---|
| 1st and 15th of every lunar month | Twice-monthly services (sóc vọng) | New-moon and full-moon days with sutra chanting and incense offerings across all three pagoda tiers. |
| 1st lunar month | Spring pilgrimage season | The busiest period of the year, tied to the custom of new-year pagoda visits across the region. |
| 19th day of the 2nd lunar month | Avalokiteshvara's Birthday | Feast day honoring Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, holding special significance here because the Upper Pagoda worships this Bodhisattva. |
| 15th day of the 4th lunar month | Buddha's Birthday (Lễ Phật đản) | Commemoration of the birth of Shakyamuni Buddha according to the Northern Buddhist calendar used in Vietnam. |
| 19th of the 6th and 19th of the 9th lunar month | Other Avalokiteshvara feast days | Commemorations of Avalokiteshvara's enlightenment and renunciation, observed on a more modest scale than the second-month feast. |
| 15th day of the 7th lunar month | Vu Lan Festival | Day of filial piety and prayers for ancestors, one of the major annual observances of Northern Buddhism. |
One custom specific to this site stems from its vertical layout. Because the three pagoda tiers sit at three elevations connected only by narrow stone steps, incense offerings do not take place simultaneously in one courtyard, but follow an ascending sequence from bottom to top, paying respects at the Lower Pagoda first, climbing to the Middle Pagoda, passing through the Dark Cave, and finally reaching the Upper Pagoda.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Thôn Đam Khê, xã Ninh Hải cũ, nay là phường Nam Hoa Lư, tỉnh Ninh Bình
- Getting there
- The pagoda is located in Đam Khê village, former Ninh Hải commune, now Nam Hoa Lư ward, Ninh Bình province, within the limestone mountain range southwest of the city center. Visitors on the same route usually combine the trip with Xuyên Thủy Cave and nearby sites in the Tam Cốc - Bích Động area.
- Coordinates
- 20.2181, 105.9144
A few rules specific to this site apply. The stone steps cut into the cliff face have narrow and slippery sections when wet, so visitors should keep to a single file and avoid stopping mid-stairway. Inside the dimly lit Dark Cave, please do not touch the stalactites or strike the antique bronze bell on your own. Across all three pagoda tiers, general temple etiquette applies, including dressing modestly, removing hats inside sanctuaries, walking and speaking quietly, and placing donations into the merit boxes.
Nearby places in the library
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?Quick Questions
Where is Bích Động Pagoda and who is worshipped there
The pagoda sits on the slope of Ngũ Nhạc Mountain in Đam Khê village, former Ninh Hải commune, now Nam Hoa Lư ward, Ninh Bình province. It follows Northern Buddhism. The Lower Pagoda houses altars to the Buddhas of the Three Times, Maitreya, and Shakyamuni. The Middle Pagoda worships Shakyamuni Buddha along with Manjushri, Samantabhadra, Ananda, and the Venerable Benefactor, with a Mother Goddess shrine on the left. The Dark Cave above the Middle Pagoda houses stone statues of Amitabha Buddha, Bodhisattva Manjushri, and Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. The Upper Pagoda (Eastern Pagoda) worships Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, flanked by shrines to the Mountain Spirit and Earth Deity.
What does Nam thiên đệ nhị động mean
It means the Second Most Scenic Grotto Under the Southern Sky, ranked after Hương Tích Grotto at Hương Pagoda. It is a literary title associated with Lord Trịnh Sâm naming the site and having the two characters Bích Động carved into the Middle Pagoda cliff face in 1773 or 1774, rather than an administrative grade.
How many tiers and stone steps does Bích Động Pagoda have
The pagoda has three tiers stacked by elevation, namely the Lower Pagoda at the mountain base, the Middle Pagoda halfway up, and the Upper Pagoda near the summit. From the Lower Pagoda to the Middle Pagoda, sources vary between 78, roughly 90, and 120 stone steps depending on the starting point. From the Middle Pagoda under Giải Oan Bridge to the Dark Cave is 21 or 22 steps, and up to the Upper Pagoda is roughly 40, 43, or 45 stone steps.
What year does the antique bell at Bích Động Pagoda date from
The bronze bell was cast by the two founding monks Trí Kiên and Trí Thể in the Đinh Hợi year, the 3rd year of the Vĩnh Thịnh reign (1707), and hangs inside the Dark Cave above the Middle Pagoda. Together with the Chinese-script stone stele erected in 1709, these two artifacts provide the firmest dates for the early 18th-century reconstruction.
When was Bích Động Pagoda built
Heritage records place the initial founding in 1428 at the start of the Posterior Lê dynasty under the name Bạch Ngọc Thạch Sơn Đồng, when it was only a small mountain shrine. Its expansion into three pagoda tiers was carried out by the founding monks Trí Kiên and Trí Thể, with sources differing between 1695 and 1705.