Following the clear waters of the Nguyệt Đức River through the historic market village of Nôm in Đại Đồng commune, Hưng Yên province, visitors cross a nine-span monolithic blue-stone bridge adorned with eighteen carved dragon heads projecting over the water to enter one of the most intact traditional village complexes in the Red River delta. Past the moss-grown unplastered brick stalls of Nôm Market, a towering Three-Entrance Gate rises like a moon-viewing pavilion amid old-growth pines, opening onto a mirror-like lake where the Avalokiteshvara Pavilion, Bell Tower, and Drum Tower float like blooming lotuses.
This is Nôm Pagoda (Chùa Nôm), formally named Linh Thông Cổ Tự, an ancient sanctuary once nestled deep within a pine forest at the heart of northern Vietnam's premier bronze-trading and bronze-casting village. Beyond captivating pilgrims with its waterside timber architecture and its unique nine-span stone bridge, Nôm Pagoda preserves an extraordinary feat of traditional craftsmanship: 122 antique statues of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Saints fashioned from cured clay centuries ago, which have been submerged up to the rafters during historic floods yet emerged with their forms and expressive countenances completely intact.
ILinh Thông Cổ Tự amid the ancient pine forest and the bronze-casting guild of Nôm Village
The pagoda's formal Sino-Vietnamese name inscribed across the crown of its Three-Entrance Gate and on its Later Lê stone stelae is Linh Thông Cổ Tự (靈通古寺), belonging to the Northern (Mahayana) Buddhist tradition (Buddhism). The four characters Linh Thông Cổ Tự weave together two layers of meaning: topographically, the word Thông (pine in Vietnamese, echoing the pine groves surrounding the temple) recalls the era when the sanctuary stood amid a dense forest of ancient pine trees atop a high rise beside the Nguyệt Đức River, doctrinally, the compound Linh Thông (靈通) signifies spiritual lucidity, penetrating comprehension of the Buddha's Dharma, and miraculous responsiveness to the prayers of sentient beings. Because the monastery stands in Nôm village of Đại Đồng commune, locals call it Nôm Pagoda (Chùa Nôm) or Đại Đồng Pagoda.
The rise and splendor of Nôm Pagoda are inseparable from the history of Nôm Ancient Village and its enterprising guilds of traditional bronze merchants and bronze casters (Kẻ Nôm / Chợ Đồng). From the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, situated along the Nguyệt Đức River waterway linking the capital Thăng Long, Kinh Bắc (Bắc Ninh), and the international port of Phố Hiến (Hưng Yên), the families of Nôm village and neighboring settlements (celebrated in the adage Three Rivers, Nine Markets, Two Bridges) prospered by trading scrap bronze, smelting alloys, and casting ritual vessels and farm tools for markets across Vietnam. It was the generous patronage and Buddhist devotion of these bronze merchants and master artisans that built Linh Thông Cổ Tự on such a grand scale.
Regarding the earliest foundation of Nôm Pagoda, local traditions recount that the temple began as a modest hermitage centuries ago (attributed in oral lore to the Lý - Trần or Early Lê period beneath the pine forest). However, the earliest verifiable epigraphic milestone, carved directly onto two large Later Lê stone stelae preserved in the Rear Sanctuary, records a comprehensive reconstruction and layout expansion of the pagoda in the Canh Thân year, the first year of the Chính Hòa era (1680) under Emperor Lê Hy Tông.
According to the 1680 Chính Hòa stele inscriptions, in the late seventeenth century, as the bronze trade of Nôm village and Đại Đồng reached its golden age, local mandarins, village elders, bronze merchants, and resident monks pooled their wealth to purchase ironwood timber and summon master sculptors to rebuild the Front Hall, Upper Hall, and side corridors and to model the pantheon of cured-clay statues, transforming the forest hermitage into a premier Buddhist sanctuary on the border of Kinh Bắc, Hải Dương, and Hưng Yên.
At Nôm Pagoda, Mahayana Buddhist doctrine is expressed through the harmonious Vietnamese village principle of Buddha in front, Saint and Patriarchs behind (Tiền Phật hậu Thánh, Tiền Phật hậu Tổ). Alongside the statues of the Buddhas of the Three Times, Amitabha Buddha, the infant Shakyamuni within the Nine-Dragon aureole, Avalokiteshvara of the Southern Sea, and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva in the Three Jewels Hall, the pagoda dedicates solemn altars to Saint Tam Giang (Đức Thánh Tam Giang), the river guardian deity also venerated at Tam Giang Communal House across the Nguyệt Đức River, as well as the Mother Goddesses, eminent benefactors (Hậu Phật), and successive patriarchal abbots.
When reading accounts of the antique clay sculptures at Nôm Pagoda, visitors will notice that most official heritage records cite 122 clay statues, whereas some popular articles mention 128 statues. This minor difference reflects two counting methods: 122 statues is the exact inventory of original seventeenth- and eighteenth-century cured-clay figures of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats, and Saints preserved in the Three Jewels Hall and the two side corridors according to the national heritage dossier, while the figure of 128 includes several bronze statues and later ancestral images housed in the Avalokiteshvara Pavilion and Patriarchal Hall.
IIOver three centuries from the 1680 Chính Hòa stelae through the Tây Sơn era to National Heritage status
Following the grand reconstruction of the first year of Chính Hòa (1680) under Emperor Lê Hy Tông, Nôm Pagoda was continually embellished by successive generations of Nôm villagers across the Cảnh Hưng era, the Tây Sơn dynasty (Cảnh Thịnh), the Nguyễn dynasty (Tự Đức and Thành Thái), and modern conservation projects, forming one of the most complete rural heritage ensembles in northern Vietnam.
According to the pagoda's stone stelae and bell inscriptions, after the 1680 milestone, in the fourth year of the Cảnh Thịnh era (1796) under the Tây Sơn dynasty, the people of Nôm village carried out a major restoration, erecting a bell tower and extending the two side corridors of the Ten Courts of Hell. During the Nguyễn dynasty, under Emperor Tự Đức (mid-19th century), the old sixteenth-century wooden bridge spanning the Nguyệt Đức River between Nôm village, Nôm Market, and Nôm Pagoda was replaced entirely with the nine-span monolithic blue-stone bridge seen today. In the eleventh year of the Thành Thái era (1899), the monastery underwent another major structural restoration. During the catastrophic Red River delta flood of the Ất Dậu year (1945) and subsequent major floods of the late twentieth century, floodwaters submerged the halls for days on end, yet all 122 antique clay statues stood firm without softening, cracking, or losing their lacquer pigment.
In terms of legal heritage protection, Nôm Pagoda was designated a National Architectural and Artistic Heritage Site by the Ministry of Culture and Information under Decision No. 295-QĐ/BT on February 12, 1994. To safeguard the wider cultural landscape organically bound to the pagoda, on January 17, 2020, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism issued Decision No. 50/QĐ-BVHTTDL ranking the entire Historical and Architectural-Artistic Complex of Nôm Village (encompassing Tam Giang Communal House, the nine-span stone bridge, Nôm village gate, Nôm Market, ancestral clan houses, and Nôm Pagoda) as a National Heritage Site. Administratively, under Resolution No. 1666/NQ-UBTVQH15 dated June 16, 2025 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on the rearrangement of commune-level units in Hưng Yên province, Đại Đồng commune merged with Việt Hưng and Lương Tài communes and parts of Đình Dù and Lạc Đạo communes (of former Văn Lâm district) to form the expanded Đại Đồng commune of Hưng Yên province.
- 1680Grand restoration of Linh Thông Cổ Tự in the 1st year of Chính HòaIn the Canh Thân year, the first year of the Chính Hòa era under Emperor Lê Hy Tông, villagers and bronze merchants of Nôm rebuilt the pagoda on a grand scale and erected two commemorative stone stelae kept in the Rear Sanctuary.
- 18th centuryCompletion of the 122 antique cured-clay statuesMaster folk sculptors created the ensemble of 122 statues of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats, and Eight Vajra Guardians from refined pond clay kneaded with mulberry paper, molasses, lime, and natural lacquer.
- 1796Expansion and bell-tower construction in the 4th year of Cảnh ThịnhUnder Emperor Quang Toản of the Tây Sơn dynasty, the pagoda underwent a major restoration that added a bell tower and extended the two long side corridors.
- 19th centuryBuilding of the 9-span stone bridge under Tự Đức and the 1899 Thành Thái restorationVillagers replaced the old wooden bridge across the Nguyệt Đức River with a nine-span dragon-carved blue-stone bridge during the reign of Emperor Tự Đức and restored the pagoda in the 11th year of Thành Thái (1899).
- 1994Ranked as a National Architectural and Artistic Heritage SiteOn February 12, 1994, the Ministry of Culture and Information issued Decision No. 295-QĐ/BT ranking Nôm Pagoda as a National Architectural and Artistic Heritage Site.
- 2020National Heritage ranking for the entire Nôm Village ComplexOn January 17, 2020, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism signed Decision No. 50/QĐ-BVHTTDL ranking the Historical and Architectural-Artistic Complex of Nôm Village as a National Heritage Site.
- 2025Part of the expanded Đại Đồng commune, Hưng Yên provinceUnder Resolution No. 1666/NQ-UBTVQH15 dated June 16, 2025, Đại Đồng, Việt Hưng, and Lương Tài communes and parts of Đình Dù and Lạc Đạo (former Văn Lâm district) merged into Đại Đồng commune, Hưng Yên province.
IIIThe soaring Tam quan, the 9-span stone bridge, and the secret of the 122 flood-proof clay statues
The architecture of Nôm Pagoda marries the solemn grandeur of traditional Buddhist carpentry with the lyrical water-garden aesthetics of the northern Vietnamese countryside. Visitors are greeted by one of the tallest and most imposing Three-Entrance Gates (Tam quan) in Vietnam, a multi-tiered brick and timber gateway with sweeping curved eaves rising high above the pine canopy. Beyond the Tam quan opens a tranquil water landscape: at the center of a clear rectangular lake stands the hexagonal Avalokiteshvara Pavilion (Lầu Quan Âm) like a giant lotus blossom on the water, linked to both banks by two arched stone bridges leading to the symmetrical Bell Tower (Lầu Chuông) and Drum Tower (Lầu Trống).
The inner monastic precinct follows an inner-Đinh, outer-Quốc (內丁外國) layout in which the Front Hall (Tiền đường) and Upper Hall (Thượng điện) join in the shape of the character Đinh (丁), enclosed by two long side corridors and backed by the Patriarchal Hall and Mother Goddess Hall. The load-bearing frame of hundreds of columns, beams, and brackets is crafted entirely from solid ironwood (gỗ lim) and jackfruit wood, topped with moss-covered fish-scale tiles and adorned with intricate relief carvings of the Four Sacred Animals and lotus scrolls.
The craftsmanship behind the 122 antique clay statues and the 9-span stone bridge across the Nguyệt Đức River
The crowning treasure that gives Nôm Pagoda its singular reputation is its ensemble of 122 antique clay statues of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Saints, and Arhats (alongside exquisite bronze works such as the gilded bronze Nine-Dragon birth relief in the main hall). Ranging in scale from towering three-meter Guardians and Vajra Warriors down to palm-sized figures along the corridors, these sculptures were never fired in a kiln (technically making them lacquered cured-clay sculptures, even though popular accounts often call them terracotta): master artisans excavated pure plastic clay from the bottom of deep ponds, dried, pulverized, and sieved it, then steeped and kneaded it for weeks with lime water, sugarcane molasses, litsea glutinosa tree resin (nhựa bời lời), and shredded mulberry paper (giấy bản). Applied in thin layers over a wood or bamboo core and dried slowly, each figure was sealed with multiple coats of traditional natural lacquer (sơn ta) and gold leaf. This waterproof natural-lacquer skin, combined with the slow petrification of lime, molasses, and mulberry fibers inside, created an impermeable shell that allowed all 122 statues to survive days of complete submersion during historic floods without dissolving.
A short walk from the pagoda gate, spanning the Nguyệt Đức River to link Nôm village with Nôm Market and Nôm Pagoda, stands the celebrated nine-span stone bridge (Cầu đá 9 nhịp). Nearly two meters wide and about eighteen meters long, the bridge is assembled entirely from massive monolithic blue-stone slabs fitted together without modern mortar. Supporting the nine spans are upright stone piers whose projecting crossbeam ends are carved in high relief with 18 dragon heads and swirling clouds gazing over the water, remaining rock-solid after centuries of footsteps.
Statues of the Three-Times Buddhas, Amitabha, Avalokiteshvara, Eight Vajra Guardians, and Eighteen Arhats modeled from pond clay mixed with mulberry paper, molasses, and lime and sealed in natural lacquer, surviving major floods intact.
A monolithic blue-stone bridge about 18 m long and nearly 2 m wide consisting of 9 spans linking Nôm Ancient Village with Nôm Market and Nôm Pagoda, its 18 projecting beam ends carved with dragon heads and clouds.
A two-tiered curved-roof timber pavilion rising like a lotus throne in the center of the temple lake, connected to the flanking Bell and Drum Towers by two arched stone bridges.
A masterwork of Nôm village bronze casting depicting nine dragons bathing the infant Shakyamuni Buddha, together with two Later Lê stone stelae erected in 1680 in the Rear Sanctuary.
One of the tallest multi-tiered Tam quan gateways in the Red River delta, paired with a serene garden of laterite and brick funerary stupas honoring deceased abbots.
IVThe lie of the land and orientation
This section presents the library's own field reading through the lens of traditional form-school feng shui at the Nôm Ancient Village complex beside the Nguyệt Đức River, rather than statements copied from the pagoda's stelae. We state this clearly so that readers can distinguish historical records from geomantic interpretation.
Viewed within the alluvial plain along the historical border of Kinh Bắc (Bắc Ninh) and Sơn Nam Thượng (Hưng Yên) at coordinates 20.98560°N, 106.09250°E, Nôm Pagoda occupies an elevated natural mound shaded by old-growth pines on the eastern side of Nôm Ancient Village, along the left bank of the Nguyệt Đức River. In delta feng shui, the spatial layout of Nôm village and Nôm Pagoda embodies the classic configuration of Three Rivers, Nine Markets, Two Bridges: the Nguyệt Đức River winds gracefully between the residential village (to the west) and the Nôm Market - Nôm Pagoda precinct (to the east) like a jade-girdle waterway that channels auspicious water qi through the community. The two ancient stone bridges spanning the river act as water-mouth locks (tỏa thủy khẩu), preventing the wealth and vital qi of the bronze-trading settlement from draining away downstream.
In terms of orientation and inner layout, the main sanctuary of Nôm Pagoda (Front Hall and Upper Hall) faces Southwest toward South, looking out over the broad temple lake with the Avalokiteshvara Pavilion at its center as the inner bright hall (nội minh đường) and the Nguyệt Đức River beyond as the outer bright hall (ngoại minh đường). The still lake water inside paired with the gently flowing river outside creates a textbook balance of stillness and motion, gathering water at the heart of the site. Flanking the Three Jewels Hall are the Bell Tower, Drum Tower, and two long side corridors forming the Azure Dragon on the left, White Tiger on the right, while the ancient stupa garden and pine-covered rise behind the sanctuary provide a solid rear backing (hậu chẩm). This mutual nourishment of Water and Wood (river and lake waters feeding the ancient pine grove) has sustained the pure, enduring qi of Linh Thông Cổ Tự for over three centuries.
VThe spring festival of Nôm Pagoda and Nôm Village and the Nguyệt Đức water procession
The Nôm Pagoda festival forms the spiritual heart of the traditional Nôm Ancient Village spring festival held every first lunar month, weaving together the tutelary deity procession at Tam Giang Communal House and Buddhist peace prayers at Linh Thông Cổ Tự.
| Lunar date | Festival name | Key rituals and cultural activities |
|---|---|---|
| 10th to 12th day of the 1st lunar month | Grand Traditional Festival of Nôm Village and Nôm Pagoda | Procession across the 9-span stone bridge to draw pure water from the ancient well inside Nôm Pagoda and carry it to Tam Giang Communal House for the sacred tablet-bathing rite (mộc dục), eight-bearer palanquin processions, and new-year incense offerings. |
| 15th day of the 1st lunar month (First Full Moon) | Upper Prime (Thượng nguyên) national peace prayer | Recitation of the Medicine Buddha Sutra, floating lantern offerings around the Avalokiteshvara Pavilion lake, and spring pilgrimage by thousands of devotees from Hưng Yên, Bắc Ninh, and Hanoi. |
| 15th day of the 4th lunar month | Buddha's Birthday (Vesak bathing rite) | Bathing of the infant Buddha ceremony beside the gilded bronze Nine-Dragon relief in the main hall and Dharma lectures. |
| 15th day of the 7th lunar month | Vu Lan Filial Piety Festival | Rose-pinning ceremony, recitation of the Ullambana Sutra, and requiem prayers for ancestors at Linh Thông Cổ Tự. |
The most distinctive ritual of the first-month festival is the sacred water procession linking Nôm Pagoda and Tam Giang Communal House: elders, young men, and dragon-dance troupes cross the nine-span stone bridge to the ancient well inside the grounds of Nôm Pagoda to draw pure water and escort it back to the communal house to bathe the spirit tablet of Saint Tam Giang, embodying the seamless bond between Buddhism and village tutelary worship in Vietnam.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Làng Nôm, xã Đại Đồng (huyện Văn Lâm cũ), tỉnh Hưng Yên
- Getting there
- From central Hanoi, follow National Highway 5 (the old Hanoi - Hải Phòng highway) eastward for about 25 kilometers to the Phố Nối intersection (Bần Yên Nhân town, Hưng Yên province), then turn left onto Provincial Road 385 (toward Lạc Đạo - Đại Đồng) for about 5 kilometers to reach the Nôm Ancient Village complex and Nôm Pagoda.
- Coordinates
- 20.9856, 106.0925
When visiting Nôm Pagoda and strolling through Nôm Ancient Village, you will cross the centuries-old nine-span stone bridge and walk along corridors housing 122 antique cured-clay statues from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Visitors are asked to dress modestly, walk softly and speak quietly within the temple grounds, refrain from touching or scratching the lacquered surfaces of the clay statues, and keep the Nguyệt Đức River and the Avalokiteshvara Pavilion lake free of litter.
Nearby places in the library
VIIContribute To This Page
Contribute photos, information or video for Nôm Pagoda
Góp ảnh, thông tin hoặc video cho Chùa NômEveryone is welcome to enrich this page: a photo you took, a detail the page misses, a short video. Every contribution is read and answered.
Thầy Ưng Khiêm mời cộng đồng cùng làm giàu trang này. Ảnh chụp tận nơi, một chi tiết lịch sử chưa được nhắc, một đoạn video ngắn: mọi đóng góp đều được đọc và trả lời.
No community contribution yet. You could be the first. Chưa có đóng góp nào từ cộng đồng. Bạn có thể là người đầu tiên.
?Quick Questions
What is the classical Chinese name of Nôm Pagoda, and what does it mean?
Nôm Pagoda's classical Sino-Vietnamese name is Linh Thông Cổ Tự (Ancient Temple of Spiritual Resonance in the Pine Forest). The name recalls how the monastery was originally built amid an expansive forest of old-growth pines on a high mound beside the Nguyệt Đức River in Nôm village, while doctrinally signifying lucid spiritual comprehension of the Buddha's Dharma.
Why have the 122 antique clay statues at Nôm Pagoda survived days of flood submersion without dissolving?
The antique statues at Nôm Pagoda (122 original cured-clay figures in the heritage inventory) were not made of ordinary mud, but crafted through a traditional cured-clay technique: plastic clay from deep ponds was sieved and kneaded with lime water, sugarcane molasses, litsea tree resin, and shredded mulberry paper (giấy bản), modeled over a wooden core, and sealed with multiple coats of natural lacquer (sơn ta) and gold leaf, creating a completely waterproof shell.
What makes the antique stone bridge leading to Nôm Pagoda unique?
Spanning the Nguyệt Đức River between Nôm village, Nôm Market, and Nôm Pagoda is a nine-span monolithic blue-stone bridge (rebuilt in stone under Emperor Tự Đức in the 19th century on the site of a 16th-century wooden bridge). Nearly 2 meters wide and about 18 meters long, it is fitted together entirely with stone mortises and adorned with 18 projecting crossbeam ends carved into dragon heads and clouds.
When were Nôm Pagoda and Nôm Ancient Village ranked as National Heritage Sites?
Nôm Pagoda itself was designated a National Architectural and Artistic Heritage Site by the Ministry of Culture and Information on February 12, 1994 under Decision No. 295-QĐ/BT. On January 17, 2020, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism issued Decision No. 50/QĐ-BVHTTDL ranking the entire Historical and Architectural-Artistic Complex of Nôm Village as a National Heritage Site.
Following the 2025 administrative reorganization, which commune of Hưng Yên province does Nôm Pagoda belong to?
Under Resolution No. 1666/NQ-UBTVQH15 dated June 16, 2025 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on commune-level units in Hưng Yên province, Đại Đồng commune merged with Việt Hưng and Lương Tài communes and parts of Đình Dù and Lạc Đạo communes (of former Văn Lâm district) to form the expanded Đại Đồng commune of Hưng Yên province, so Nôm Pagoda remains in Đại Đồng commune, Hưng Yên province.