Traveling about twelve kilometers down National Highway 1A from the center of former Sóc Trăng toward Bạc Liêu, you come to a pagoda gate crowned with three pointed Khmer towers and flanked by lion statues. Beyond the gate stand two rows of Kâyno celestial maidens lining the approach. Look up at the roof of the main hall in the sunlight and you see ceramic shards glinting across the surface, thousands of pieces of bowls, soup basins and plates set into the roof and walls.
The Khmer call the pagoda Sà Lôn, phatgiao.org.vn records its formal name as Wath Sro Loun, and Giác Ngộ newspaper writes Srolon. Vietnamese speakers named it after what catches the eye first, Chùa Chén Kiểu, the pagoda of patterned porcelain bowls. This is a village pagoda of the Khmer community of Mỹ Xuyên, practicing Khmer Theravada Buddhism, distinguished by its ceramic mosaic decoration and a set of mother-of-pearl inlaid wooden furniture acquired from the family of the Prince of Bạc Liêu.
IThe name and the patterned porcelain shards
The word kiểu in southern Vietnamese refers to patterned porcelain ware, where chén kiểu means a patterned porcelain bowl and dĩa kiểu means a patterned porcelain plate. The name Chén Kiểu was therefore coined by Vietnamese speakers after the building's appearance, whereas its familiar Khmer name is Sà Lôn. The destination profile published by Tuổi Trẻ newspaper gives the full Khmer title as Wath Sê Rây Sóc Khum Song Kum Miên Chi Srolôn, in which Wath is the Khmer word for pagoda, while Srolôn or Sro Loun derives from Chro Luông, the name of a small creek running along the village road near the temple. On digital maps the site is labeled Chùa Sà Lôn.
Two accounts of how the bowls and plates were set in place. Both phatgiao.org.vn and Thanh Niên newspaper recount that when the pagoda was being rebuilt, local villagers brought porcelain bowls, plates and basins to contribute, and those shards were inlaid onto the walls and roof as ornament, giving rise to the name Chén Kiểu. The destination profile published by Tuổi Trẻ tells the story from the builders' side, noting that when raising the main hall, craftsmen combined small glazed tiles with broken patterned bowls, basins and plates to surface the roof, which was cast as a solid cement slab and then completely covered in mosaic. The two accounts do not contradict each other, as one explains where the materials came from and the other describes how the craftsmen applied them.
The Buddhist tradition in brief. The pagoda belongs to Khmer Theravada Buddhism, preserving the Pali Tipitaka, worshipping only Shakyamuni Buddha, with saffron-robed monks going on alms rounds and the temple serving as the religious and communal heart of the Khmer hamlet (phum sóc). Khmer Theravada monks do not take generational Dharma names from a lineage poem as Northern Buddhist monks do, so there is no transmission verse here. A fuller explanation of this tradition, the sala hall and the Sima boundary stones around the main hall appears in the library's entries on Kh'leang Pagoda and Bat Pagoda (Chùa Dơi).
Its place alongside those two pagodas. Within the former Sóc Trăng area, Kh'leang Pagoda is the oldest and houses a Pali school, Bat Pagoda is famous for the fruit bats roosting in its grove, and Chén Kiểu Pagoda stands out for its porcelain shard mosaic and the antique wooden furniture from the house of the Prince of Bạc Liêu.
Some visitors hear the name Chén Kiểu and assume the pagoda venerates ceramic ware, or mistake it for a Chinese temple because porcelain mosaic is a familiar craft on Chinese shrines. Neither is true. This is a Khmer Theravada Buddhist pagoda worshipping only Shakyamuni Buddha. The ceramic shards are architectural ornament, and Chén Kiểu is an outside nickname, while Khmer residents in the hamlet still call their temple Sà Lôn.
IITwo centuries and two sets of dates
According to the sources, the pagoda was first built on its present site in 1815 using simple thatch and timber. No source records the name of the founding monk. The destination profile on Tuổi Trẻ notes that the pagoda has passed through twelve generations of abbots. Two recent abbots named across the sources are Most Venerable Tăng Dúch, who passed away in 1985, and Most Venerable Quách Mến, followed in more recent years by Venerable Kim Rêne overseeing the temple.
Where sources differ on the rebuilding dates. Both phatgiao.org.vn and Thanh Niên record that the present pagoda began rebuilding in 1945 under the care of Most Venerable Tăng Dúch, was carried forward by Most Venerable Quách Mến and was inaugurated in 1989. Giác Ngộ newspaper and the Tuổi Trẻ destination profile give a different timeline, stating that the ninth abbot, spelled Tăng Đuch, began rebuilding in 1969 and basically completed the main hall, sala and stupas by 1980. The two accounts differ by twenty-four years on the start date and nine years on the completion date. Lacking primary temple records to decide between them, the library records both.
The exact date of heritage ranking also varies. The article on phatgiao.org.vn cites Decision 374 dated August 29, 2012, whereas Giác Ngộ cites November 20, 2012. Both sources agree on the year 2012 and on its status as a provincial architectural and artistic heritage site.
- 1815Pagoda foundedAccording to local tradition and published sources, the pagoda was erected on its present site, initially of simple timber and thatch.
- 1945Rebuilding begun, per phatgiao.org.vnMost Venerable Tăng Dúch initiated the rebuilding of the pagoda. Thanh Niên newspaper gives the same year.
- 1947 or 1948Purchase of Prince of Bạc Liêu heirloomsThe pagoda purchased a set of wooden furniture from the estate of the Prince of Bạc Liêu, Trần Trinh Huy. The Tuổi Trẻ profile dates the purchase to 1948 for two thousand giạ of paddy, while Wikipedia dates it to 1947.
- 1969Rebuilding begun, per Giác NgộGiác Ngộ and the Tuổi Trẻ profile record that the ninth abbot began rebuilding the pagoda in this year.
- 1980Basic completion, per Giác NgộThe main hall, sala and stupas were substantially completed.
- 1989Inauguration, per phatgiao.org.vnMost Venerable Quách Mến continued the restoration work and the pagoda held its inauguration ceremony.
- 2012Provincial heritage siteRanked as a provincial architectural and artistic heritage site of former Sóc Trăng Province. Sources give different dates for the decision.
IIIPorcelain mosaic architecture and antique heirlooms
The compound follows the classic layout of a Khmer pagoda, with a main gate, an approach avenue, the main hall in the center, and the sala, monks' quarters and reliquary stupas grouped around it inside a grove of old trees. Regarding the size of the grounds, phatgiao.org.vn and Thanh Niên record an area of more than 2.1 hectares, whereas the Tuổi Trẻ destination profile records more than 9 hectares. What sets Chén Kiểu apart is its outer skin. The Tuổi Trẻ profile observes that the temple's architecture blends Khmer tradition with Kinh and Chinese decorative influences, and the ceramic mosaic work is where those streams meet.
The main gate faces north toward National Highway 1A, crowned with three pointed Khmer towers and flanked by two lion statues.
Inside the gate stand twenty-four statues of Kâyno celestial maidens arranged in two rows along the avenue, hands pressed together in greeting, according to the Tuổi Trẻ profile.
Five-headed Naga serpents stretch along the balustrades and roof edges, a familiar Khmer motif symbolizing protection of the Buddha.
A three-tiered roof supported by sixteen rows of large columns, cast in solid cement and surfaced with small glazed tiles and shards of patterned porcelain bowls, basins and plates. At the western steps up to the main hall stand two columns sculpted in relief with the door guardians Uất Trì Cung (Yuchi Gong) and Tần Thúc Bảo (Qin Shubao).
Giác Ngộ notes that whole and broken bowls and plates decorate the rear wall of the main hall, behind which lies a garden of statues depicting the life of Shakyamuni Buddha from birth to Parinirvana.
The sala and monks' quarters preserve the winter bed, the summer bed inlaid with mother-of-pearl and a rosewood couch set from the family of the Prince of Bạc Liêu, Trần Trinh Huy, purchased by the pagoda in 1947 or 1948.
Inlaying broken porcelain onto roofs and walls is not unique to Khmer pagodas. Ethnic Vietnamese and Chinese artisans in southern Vietnam have long used this technique on communal houses, shrines and mausoleums, cutting and grinding ceramic fragments to form flowers, leaves, dragons and phoenixes. What is unusual at Chén Kiểu is seeing that craft applied to a Khmer Theravada pagoda, across sweeping roof eaves and Naga finials that are ordinarily painted or gilded. Up close, you can still make out the painted patterns of old bowls and plates on many shards. If one follows the story of villagers donating their crockery, each shard once belonged to a household table in the hamlet.
Alongside the porcelain-clad main hall, the lecture hall and monks' quarters preserve a group of wooden furnishings highlighted by phatgiao.org.vn and the Tuổi Trẻ profile as heirlooms of the family of the Prince of Bạc Liêu, Trần Trinh Huy, son of Councilor Trần Trinh Trạch. The Tuổi Trẻ profile records that the pagoda bought this furniture in 1948 for two thousand giạ of paddy, while Wikipedia dates the purchase to 1947. The set includes two beds designed for the warm and cool seasons, crafted of precious woods inlaid with mother-of-pearl, each about 2.2 meters long, 1.6 meters wide and 0.6 meters high with a 1.8-meter canopy frame, together with a rosewood couch set inlaid with cloud-veined marble and a pair of ironwood columns carved with dragons and phoenixes.
IVThe lie of the land and orientation
This section presents the library's reading through the lens of traditional feng shui, not something written in the pagoda's own texts. Khmer Theravada Buddhism does not choose sites by feng shui. Khmer pagodas orient their main halls toward the east according to their own religious custom, because Khmer Buddhists believe the Buddha faced east when attaining enlightenment and continues to look eastward to guide living beings. Chén Kiểu Pagoda follows that custom. The notes below simply offer a comparison for readers familiar with traditional Vietnamese site reading.
Khmer pagodas in the former Sóc Trăng region typically stand on elevated sand ridges (giồng đất) higher than the surrounding rice fields, set right inside the hamlet rather than isolated from the village. In traditional site reading, high ground rising out of low fields is a place where qi gathers without being dispersed by seasonal floodwaters. A multi-hectare compound shaded by ancient trees adds another protective belt that holds qi and screens the dry-season winds blowing in from the sea.
As for facing east, traditional Vietnamese site reading associates the east with the rising sun and the Wood element, the direction of growth and vitality. An east-facing main hall receives the early morning light straight onto the main altar. The Khmer orient their halls to the east for doctrinal reasons rather than feng shui, yet both ways of thinking converge on the same compass direction.
Regarding its relationship with the road, the pagoda sits beside National Highway 1A with its main gate opening north onto the highway and a long approach avenue leading to the main hall. Feng shui treats that entrance avenue as an extended bright hall (minh đường), where incoming energy slows down before reaching the sanctuary. On ordinary days that same avenue is where local Khmer villagers set out their stalls, making it both a sacred buffer zone and a living space of the hamlet.
VFestivals and the market inside the pagoda
The destination profile on Tuổi Trẻ notes that the pagoda celebrates traditional Khmer festivals such as the New Year and the ancestor-offering ceremony alongside Buddhist observances including Vesak, the start of the rainy-season retreat and the end of the retreat. The meaning of each festival is explained in detail in the entry on Kh'leang Pagoda, so only the dates are listed here.
| Time of year | Festival | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-April (solar calendar) | Chôl Chnăm Thmây, Khmer New Year | Reckoned by the Khmer calendar over three days, featuring the calendar procession, bathing of Buddha statues and building of sand mounds. |
| Full moon of the 4th lunar month | Visak Bochea, Buddha's Birthday | Commemorates the Birth, Enlightenment and Parinirvana of the Buddha. |
| Full moon of the 6th lunar month | Chôl Vôssa, Vassa entry | Monks begin the three-month rainy-season retreat. |
| Late 8th to early 9th lunar month | Sene Đôlta, ancestor offering | Villagers bring food offerings to the pagoda for their ancestors and invite monks to chant scriptures. |
| Full moon of the 9th lunar month | Chênh Vôssa, end of Vassa | Monks conclude the rainy-season retreat, followed by the Kathina robe-offering season. |
| Full moon of the 10th lunar month | Ok Om Bok, Moon Worship | Thanksgiving ceremony to the Moon deity after the harvest, celebrated in former Sóc Trăng with Ngo boat races. |
The market inside the pagoda. Giác Ngộ newspaper once described a distinctive everyday scene at Sà Lôn, where in front of the gate and along the entrance avenue a small market gathered as Khmer villagers from the surrounding area laid out local produce such as shallots, melons, pickled radish and traditional cakes to sell to visitors. Giác Ngộ called it a market inside the pagoda. The paper also noted proposals to move the stalls to a separate area outside the gate to preserve quiet, so the scene visitors encounter today may have changed.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Bên quốc lộ 1A, phường Mỹ Xuyên (xã Đại Tâm cũ, huyện Mỹ Xuyên cũ, tỉnh Sóc Trăng cũ), thành phố Cần Thơ
- Getting there
- The pagoda stands beside National Highway 1A in Mỹ Xuyên Ward, Cần Thơ City, about twelve kilometers from the center of former Sóc Trăng toward Bạc Liêu.
- Coordinates
- 9.5381, 105.9203
A Khmer pagoda is both a monastic training center and the communal house of the hamlet, so please respect temple etiquette. Remove shoes before stepping up into the main hall, and dress modestly with shoulders and knees covered. Do not climb onto pedestals or Naga balustrades for photos, and do not pry at or touch the porcelain shards inlaid on the walls or the antique wooden furniture. When sitting inside the main hall, do not point your feet toward the Buddha statue. Women do not touch monks.
Nearby places in the library
VIIContribute To This Page
Contribute photos, information or video for Chen Kieu Pagoda
Góp ảnh, thông tin hoặc video cho Chùa Chén KiểuEveryone is welcome to enrich this page: a photo you took, a detail the page misses, a short video. Every contribution is read and answered.
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?Quick Questions
Why is it called Chén Kiểu Pagoda
Because the roof and walls of the main hall are inlaid with shards of patterned porcelain bowls, soup basins and plates (chén kiểu). According to phatgiao.org.vn and Thanh Niên, villagers donated crockery when the pagoda was rebuilt. The Tuổi Trẻ profile notes that craftsmen combined small glazed tiles with broken porcelain shards to surface the roof. Its Khmer name is Sà Lôn.
Which Buddhist tradition does Chén Kiểu Pagoda belong to
It belongs to Khmer Theravada Buddhism and serves as the hamlet pagoda of the Khmer community in Mỹ Xuyên. It worships only Shakyamuni Buddha, and its monks keep the Pali monastic code. It is neither a Chinese temple nor a Northern Buddhist pagoda, even though the porcelain mosaic and the door-god reliefs at the western steps reflect cultural exchange with the Kinh and Chinese communities.
When was Chén Kiểu Pagoda built
According to the sources, the pagoda was founded in 1815. The present structures were rebuilt in the 20th century, with sources giving two different timelines, where phatgiao.org.vn records construction starting in 1945 and inauguration in 1989, whereas Giác Ngộ and the Tuổi Trẻ profile record rebuilding starting in 1969 and basic completion in 1980. It was ranked a provincial heritage site in 2012.
Where is Chén Kiểu Pagoda located
The pagoda stands beside National Highway 1A in Mỹ Xuyên Ward, Cần Thơ City, formerly Đại Tâm Commune, Mỹ Xuyên District, Sóc Trăng Province. It lies about twelve kilometers from the center of former Sóc Trăng along the highway toward Bạc Liêu.
How does Chén Kiểu Pagoda differ from Bat Pagoda and Kh'leang Pagoda
All three belong to Khmer Theravada Buddhism in the former Sóc Trăng area. Kh'leang Pagoda is the oldest and has a Pali school, Bat Pagoda is famous for the bats in its grove, and Chén Kiểu Pagoda is known for the porcelain shard mosaic on its roof and walls as well as the antique wooden furniture of the Prince of Bạc Liêu's family.