Following National Highway 2 along the Lô River valley through Vị Xuyên commune (formerly Đạo Đức commune, about nine kilometers south of the old urban center of Hà Giang), visitors turn across a small bridge leading into a prosperous Tày and Nùng village at the foot of Mount Pú Chiến. At the end of a stone-paved path winding up a gentle tree-shaded hill in Làng Nùng (Nà Mầu) hamlet, a modest, tranquil pagoda emerges atop a thirty-meter hill overlooking emerald rice paddies and the Lô River.
This is Sùng Khánh Pagoda (Chùa Sùng Khánh), fondly known to locals as Làng Nùng Pagoda, one of the rarest surviving Trần-dynasty Buddhist monuments on Vietnam's northern frontier. Within the humble sanctuary of this mountain temple stands a priceless masterwork of Vietnamese history: the National Treasure Stele of Sùng Khánh Pagoda erected in the Đinh Mùi year (1367), a nearly seven-hundred-year-old monolithic stone stele recording how a Trần royal princess and indigenous chieftains joined hands to build the pagoda and safeguard the borderland.
IMilitary Commissioner Nguyễn Thêm (Reverend Hoàng Y) and Trần-dynasty Buddhism on the frontier
The pagoda's formal Sino-Vietnamese name carved across the forehead of its fourteenth-century stone stele is Sùng Khánh Tự (崇慶寺), belonging to the tradition of Trần-dynasty Vietnamese Buddhism (Buddhism). The two characters Sùng Khánh signify revering auspicious blessings, praying for the prosperity of the realm and for all inhabitants of the borderland to enjoy the compassionate grace of the Buddha's Dharma. In everyday local life, because the sanctuary is closely bound to the Tày and Nùng community of Làng Nùng hamlet (also known as the Nà Mầu area of former Đạo Đức commune), residents affectionately call it Làng Nùng Pagoda.
Unlike grand metropolitan temples in the capital Thăng Long or the Red River delta presided over directly by court prelates, Sùng Khánh Pagoda was founded by an indigenous military and administrative leader who took Buddhist vows: Military Commissioner (Chư quân dịch thủ) Nguyễn Thêm (rendered in some stele translations as Nguyễn Ấn), revered by local people as Reverend Hoàng Y (the Yellow-Robed Monk). After his passing, his younger brother who succeeded him in governing the territory, Regional Chieftain (Phụ đạo) Nguyễn Ích, together with his consort, a Trần royal princess (daughter of a Trần imperial prince married into the frontier chieftaincy), expanded the pagoda and petitioned a court official to compose its commemorative stele inscription.
The founding and endurance of Sùng Khánh Pagoda alongside its sister sanctuary on the left bank of the Lô River, Bình Lâm Pagoda, offer vivid testimony to the worldly, realm-protecting spirit of Trần-dynasty Buddhism. During the Trần era, after defeating the Mongol-Yuan invasions and unifying Buddhist thought under the Trúc Lâm Yên Tử Zen school, the Trần monarchs pursued a wise policy of frontier integration: on one hand giving royal princesses in marriage to Tày and Nùng hereditary chieftains (such as the Nguyễn clan governing Trường Phú Linh and Giang Thông in Vị Xuyên), and on the other hand using the compassionate teachings of Buddhism as a spiritual bond uniting the central court with highland communities. At Sùng Khánh Pagoda, the chieftain who guarded the frontier also donned monastic robes, making the village pagoda a center of moral cultivation for the entire Lô River valley.
The complete account of the pagoda's founding is preserved verbatim on the stone stele titled Sùng Khánh tự bi minh tịnh tự (Stele Inscription and Preface of Sùng Khánh Pagoda), erected on the twenty-sixth day of the third lunar month in the Đinh Mùi year, the tenth year of the Đại Trị era (1367). The author of this inscription was not a local cleric, but a court scholar dispatched from the capital Thăng Long on an inspection tour of the northern frontier: Tạ Thúc Ngao (courtesy name Sở Khanh), who held the court office of Phụng độc học sinh thư sử trực thủ under Emperor Trần Dụ Tông.
According to Tạ Thúc Ngao's inscription, on the second day of the first lunar month in the Bính Thân year (1356), the sixteenth year of the Thiệu Phong era under Emperor Trần Dụ Tông, the local Chư quân dịch thủ of the Nguyễn clan (Nguyễn Thêm, or Reverend Hoàng Y) selected an auspicious hill beside the Lô River in Hoằng Nông to build a Buddhist pagoda, cast statues, and endow rice fields for its upkeep. After Reverend Hoàng Y passed away in the Bính Ngọ year (1366), his younger brother, Regional Chieftain Nguyễn Ích, and his consort (the daughter of a Trần royal prince) donated additional fields and temple attendants, inviting court scholar Tạ Thúc Ngao to compose the inscription and verses carved into stone for posterity.
In popular articles on Sùng Khánh Pagoda, readers often encounter three different personal names, Nguyễn Thêm (Reverend Hoàng Y), Nguyễn Ấn, and Nguyễn Ích, which can cause confusion as to who actually founded the temple. This variation stems from different Sino-Vietnamese readings of an archaic character and from the two successive brothers recorded directly in the 1367 stele text: the elder brother who personally founded the pagoda in 1356 and took monastic robes as Reverend Hoàng Y was Nguyễn Thêm (whose given name some epigraphers transcribe as Nguyễn Ấn), whereas the younger brother who succeeded as regional chieftain, married the Trần princess, and erected the stele in 1367 was Nguyễn Ích. Both brothers belonged to the hereditary Nguyễn chieftain family that safeguarded the Vị Xuyên frontier under the Trần court.
IINearly seven hundred years from the Trần, Later Lê, and Tây Sơn eras to the present
Founded in the spring of the Bính Thân year (1356), Sùng Khánh Pagoda has stood through nearly seven centuries of history. Although its original fourteenth-century timber structure succumbed long ago to highland weather, the worship tradition atop the hill in Làng Nùng hamlet, together with the 1367 stone stele and the antique bronze bell, has endured as an indelible cultural landmark beside the Lô River.
When cross-checking documentary sources regarding the antique bronze bell hung inside Sùng Khánh Pagoda and the timeline of its national heritage ranking, the library notes two points of divergence and presents both accounts clearly. First, concerning the date of the antique bronze bell (measuring about 0.90 m in height and 0.50 m to 0.62 m in mouth diameter): one group of heritage and tourism records states that the bronze bell preserved at the pagoda was cast in the fifth year of the Cảnh Thịnh era (1797) under the Tây Sơn dynasty, whereas several press reports and Buddhist studies papers state that the bell bears the Chinese characters Sùng Khánh Diên Linh and was cast during the Restored Lê dynasty in the Vĩnh Thịnh era (1705 or 1707) under Emperor Lê Dụ Tông during a major restoration of the temple. Together, these accounts indicate that across the eighteenth century (from Emperor Lê Dụ Tông to the Tây Sơn period), Sùng Khánh Pagoda underwent major restorations and ritual bell castings.
Second, regarding its designation as a National historical and cultural heritage site: official heritage records confirm that Sùng Khánh Pagoda was ranked as a National historical and cultural heritage site by the Ministry of Culture and Information on November 5, 1993 (with some general surveys of Buddhist sites in former Hà Giang also mentioning a 1999 dossier update). On December 30, 2013, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 2599/QĐ-TTg recognizing the Stele of Sùng Khánh Pagoda as a National Treasure (second batch). Administratively, following Resolution No. 202/2025/QH15 and Resolution No. 1684/NQ-UBTVQH15 in 2025, former Hà Giang province merged with Tuyên Quang province to form the new Tuyên Quang province, and former Đạo Đức commune merged with Vị Xuyên town and neighboring areas to form the new Vị Xuyên commune.
- 1356Foundation of Sùng Khánh PagodaOn the second day of the first lunar month in the Bính Thân year (sixteenth year of the Thiệu Phong era under Emperor Trần Dụ Tông), Military Commissioner Nguyễn Thêm (Reverend Hoàng Y) began constructing the pagoda atop a hill beside the Lô River.
- 1367Carving and erection of the Sùng Khánh Pagoda SteleOn the twenty-sixth day of the third lunar month in the Đinh Mùi year (tenth year of the Đại Trị era under Emperor Trần Dụ Tông), Regional Chieftain Nguyễn Ích and his consort, a Trần princess, erected the stone stele Sùng Khánh tự bi minh tịnh tự composed by court official Tạ Thúc Ngao.
- 18th centuryMajor restoration and casting of the antique bronze bellLocal chieftains and villagers restored the pagoda and cast a 0.90 m bronze bell (sources cite either the Vĩnh Thịnh era, 1705 - 1707, under Emperor Lê Dụ Tông or the fifth year of Cảnh Thịnh, 1797, under the Tây Sơn dynasty).
- 1989Reconstruction of the sanctuary on the ancient foundationAfter the old timber structure had decayed over time, residents of Làng Nùng hamlet and the local cultural sector rebuilt the sanctuary to shelter the Trần-dynasty stone stele and the antique bronze bell.
- 1993Ranked as a National historical and cultural heritage siteOn November 5, 1993, the Ministry of Culture and Information issued a decision ranking Sùng Khánh Pagoda as a National historical and cultural heritage site.
- 2013Recognition of the Sùng Khánh Pagoda Stele as a National TreasureOn December 30, 2013, the Prime Minister signed Decision No. 2599/QĐ-TTg recognizing the Stele of Sùng Khánh Pagoda (alongside the Bell of Bình Lâm Pagoda) as a National Treasure in the second batch.
- 2025Incorporated into Vị Xuyên commune, new Tuyên Quang provinceUnder Resolution No. 202/2025/QH15 and Resolution No. 1684/NQ-UBTVQH15 in 2025, Hà Giang province merged with Tuyên Quang province, and former Đạo Đức commune became part of Vị Xuyên commune, Tuyên Quang province.
IIIHilltop sanctuary architecture and the 1367 National Treasure stone stele
The present structure of Sùng Khánh Pagoda sits compactly atop a hilltop terrace covering just over two hundred square meters, reconstructed on the original Trần-dynasty foundation with a main worship hall of about 26 square meters built of brick walls and roofed with curved shoe-tipped tiles in traditional northern Vietnamese style. Though modest in scale, the interior of the main hall is warm and solemn: the central altar honors the Three Jewels of Buddhism, flanked on the right by the priceless National Treasure Stele of Sùng Khánh Pagoda and on the left by the eighteenth-century bronze bell.
The archaeological and artistic centerpiece of the monument is the stone stele Sùng Khánh tự bi minh tịnh tự erected in the tenth year of Đại Trị (1367). According to the official National Treasure dossier of the Department of Cultural Heritage (dsvh.gov.vn), the stele is carved from monolithic blue stone and rests upon the back of a monolithic stone tortoise. The stele body measures 90 cm in height, 47 cm to 48 cm in width, and 11 cm in thickness, while the stone tortoise base measures 95 cm in length, 57 cm in width, and 19 cm in height, its raised dragon-like head displaying the vigorous sculptural spirit of the Trần dynasty. What astonishes art historians is the arched stele forehead divided into three relief panels, a composition unmatched on any other surviving Trần-dynasty stele in Vietnam: the central panel depicts Amitabha Buddha seated in meditation upon a lotus throne attended by two standing Bodhisattvas, while the left and right panels depict a pair of sinuous Trần-dynasty dragons flying inward to pay homage to the Buddha's lotus dais.
A monolithic blue-stone stele measuring 90 cm tall, 47 - 48 cm wide, and 11 cm thick, set upon a stone tortoise 95 cm long, 57 cm wide, and 19 cm high. Its arched forehead is divided into three relief panels showing Amitabha Buddha on a lotus throne with two attendants flanked by two dragons, a unique design in Trần-dynasty art.
Composed by court scholar Tạ Thúc Ngao (courtesy name Sở Khanh) on the 26th day of the 3rd lunar month in the Đinh Mùi year (1367), comprising 18 vertical lines with 436 characters. Beyond recording the 1356 founding and the patronage of the Nguyễn chieftains and Trần princess, it preserves early Nôm characters transcribing local Tày-Nùng place names and personal names in Vị Xuyên.
Hung on the left side of the main hall, standing about 90 cm tall with a twin-dragon crown hanger and a Chinese inscription recording temple restorations and donations by local officials and devotees (sources date it either to 1705 - 1707 under the Restored Lê or to the 5th year of Cảnh Thịnh, 1797, under the Tây Sơn).
Carved from a single block of blue stone 95 cm long, with an uplifted head, prominent nasal ridge, and four sturdy legs planted firmly on the ground, exemplifying the robust sculptural aesthetic of fourteenth-century Đại Việt.
A flight of stone steps ascending from the foot of Làng Nùng hamlet through a canopy of ancient trees to the hilltop terrace, guiding pilgrims from everyday village life into the quiet sanctuary.
From the standpoint of historical linguistics and geography, the 436 characters carved on the Stele of Sùng Khánh Pagoda constitute a priceless fourteenth-century Sino-Nôm documentary corpus. Alongside the refined classical Chinese prose of capital scholar Tạ Thúc Ngao, the inscription employs Trần-dynasty Nôm script to record the vernacular names of rice fields, hills, rivers, and the Tày-Nùng temple attendants and donors dedicated to the pagoda across Hoằng Nông, Giang Thông (the Lô River), and Trường Phú Linh (present-day Phú Linh and Vị Xuyên). Together with the 1295 bronze bell of Bình Lâm Pagoda across the river, the 1367 stone stele of Sùng Khánh Pagoda stands as irrefutable epigraphic proof in blue stone that the Vị Xuyên - Hà Giang region (now part of Tuyên Quang province) belonged to the unified administrative, cultural, and script system of Đại Việt more than seven centuries ago.
IVThe lie of the land and orientation
This section presents the library's reading through the eyes of traditional landform feng shui alongside the landscape description written in 1367 by Tạ Thúc Ngao on the pagoda's stele itself. The library states this clearly so readers can see how fourteen-century builders selected sacred ground on the northern frontier.
Right on the face of the 1367 stone stele, court scholar Tạ Thúc Ngao employed the classical language of Trần-dynasty landform geomancy to describe the setting of Sùng Khánh Pagoda: behind the temple rises a lofty mountain peak serving as a protective rear backing (hậu chẩm), while in front flows the Giang Thông River (the Lô River) forming a water belt across the bright hall, creating a site at once pure and majestic like a lotus blossoming amid the mountains. Verified on satellite maps at 22.76136 degrees north latitude and 104.99770 degrees east longitude, that fourteenth-century description matches the physical terrain of Làng Nùng hamlet (Vị Xuyên commune, Tuyên Quang province) with remarkable precision.
The pagoda sits atop the crown of a solitary hill about thirty meters high (Nà Mầu / Làng Nùng Hill) branching off from the towering massif of Mount Pú Chiến to the northwest. The overlapping ridges of Mount Pú Chiến behind the hill act as the ancestral mountain shielding the site from freezing northern winds and sending a dragon vein (long mạch) down to form the node (huyệt) atop the hill. The main facade of Sùng Khánh Pagoda opens toward the east and southeast, looking out over the flat valley fields of Làng Nùng hamlet, which serve as the inner bright hall (nội minh đường), and slightly farther east toward the mighty Lô River winding from north to south as a water-gathering outer bright hall (ngoại minh đường). Most remarkably, if one draws a straight line across to the left bank of the Lô River about five kilometers to the southeast, one reaches Bình Lâm Pagoda in Phú Linh commune. The two Trần-dynasty pagodas, Sùng Khánh on the right bank and Bình Lâm on the left bank, stand facing each other across the Lô River like two spiritual pillars locking the water gate and vital qi of the entire northern frontier gateway.
VThe Sùng Khánh Pagoda festival and the Lồng Tồng festival on the first full moon
Tied to the pagoda's founding in the first lunar month of the Bính Thân year (1356), every spring, especially on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month (the First Full Moon), Tày, Nùng, Dao, and Kinh communities in Vị Xuyên commune (former Đạo Đức commune) gather at the foot of Làng Nùng Hill to celebrate the Sùng Khánh Pagoda Festival combined with the Lồng Tồng (Going-to-the-Field) Festival.
| Lunar date | Rite and activity | Detailed content |
|---|---|---|
| 1st to 2nd day of the 1st month | New Year incense offering and founding commemoration | Local villagers climb the pagoda hill to offer New Year incense to the Buddha and commemorate the day Reverend Hoàng Y (Nguyễn Thêm) founded Sùng Khánh Pagoda (2nd day of the 1st lunar month, 1356). |
| Morning of the 15th day of the 1st month | Peace prayer at the pagoda and Lồng Tồng plowing rite | Village elders and community representatives offer flowers, vegetarian trays, and five-colored glutinous rice inside Sùng Khánh Pagoda to pray for national peace, then carry the offerings down to the valley field for the ceremonial first plowing of the year (Lồng Tồng). |
| All day on the 15th day of the 1st month | Còn ball tossing, Then singing, and folk games | Across the Làng Nùng paddy fields at the foot of the hill, festivities unfold with còn ball tossing through a high bamboo ring, Then singing with Tính lute, Cọi folk songs, tug-of-war, stick pushing, stilt walking, and crossbow shooting. |
| 15th day of the 4th and 7th lunar months | Buddha's Birthday and Vu Lan Festival | Buddhists and residents from across Vị Xuyên visit the pagoda for the bathing-of-the-Buddha rite in the fourth month and ancestral filial piety prayers in the seventh month. |
The seamless blending of Buddhist worship atop Sùng Khánh Hill and the Tày-Nùng Lồng Tồng agricultural festival on the valley floor below gives this celebration its unmistakable identity. Once the eighteenth-century bronze bell rings out from the hilltop sanctuary to announce the blessings of the Buddha and the ancestral Nguyễn chieftains, the first furrows of the new farming season are plowed across the Làng Nùng fields to the beat of drums and gongs as five-colored cloth balls soar into the sky. In this way, Trần-dynasty Buddhism has lived naturally and enduringly within the daily life of highland communities beside the Lô River for nearly seven hundred years.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Thôn Làng Nùng (Nà Mầu), xã Vị Xuyên (xã Đạo Đức cũ, huyện Vị Xuyên cũ, tỉnh Hà Giang cũ), tỉnh Tuyên Quang
- Getting there
- From central Hà Giang ward (former Hà Giang city), travel south along National Highway 2 toward Tuyên Quang for about 9 km into former Đạo Đức commune (now Vị Xuyên commune, Tuyên Quang province), then turn right across the bridge into Làng Nùng cultural village for just over 1 km to reach the foot of Sùng Khánh Pagoda Hill.
- Coordinates
- 22.76136, 104.9977
Sùng Khánh Pagoda sits atop a high hill inside the cultural village of Làng Nùng, so visitors are asked to dress respectfully, tread carefully along the stone steps, and keep quiet inside the main hall. Above all, because the 1367 Stele of Sùng Khánh Pagoda is a National Treasure carved in original Trần-dynasty blue stone, visitors should view it with their eyes only and must never touch the inscribed Chinese and Nôm characters, lean on the stone tortoise head, make unauthorized rubbings, or strike the antique bronze bell without permission.
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?Quick Questions
When was Sùng Khánh Pagoda built and who founded it?
According to the stone stele carved in 1367 at the pagoda, Sùng Khánh Pagoda was founded on the second day of the first lunar month in the Bính Thân year (1356) under Emperor Trần Dụ Tông. Its founder was a local military commissioner (Chư quân dịch thủ) named Nguyễn Thêm (transcribed in some translations as Nguyễn Ấn), who took monastic vows and was revered by local people as Reverend Hoàng Y (the Yellow-Robed Monk).
What makes the National Treasure Stele of Sùng Khánh Pagoda unique?
Erected on the twenty-sixth day of the third lunar month in the Đinh Mùi year, the tenth year of Đại Trị (1367), the stele measures 90 cm tall, 47 - 48 cm wide, and 11 cm thick, resting on a monolithic stone tortoise. Its arched forehead is uniquely divided into three relief panels depicting Amitabha Buddha on a lotus throne with two attendants flanked by two Trần-dynasty dragons. The body bears 18 lines of 436 Chinese and early Nôm characters composed by court official Tạ Thúc Ngao. It was recognized as a National Treasure on December 30, 2013.
Besides the Trần-dynasty stone stele, what other valuable antiquity is kept at Sùng Khánh Pagoda?
Beside the 1367 stone stele, the main hall preserves an antique bronze bell standing about 0.90 m tall with an intricately cast twin-dragon hanger. Regarding its casting date, documentary sources record two eighteenth-century dates: the Vĩnh Thịnh era (1705 - 1707) under Emperor Lê Dụ Tông of the Restored Lê dynasty, or the fifth year of Cảnh Thịnh (1797) under the Tây Sơn dynasty.
Which province and commune does Sùng Khánh Pagoda belong to after the 2025 administrative merger?
Prior to July 1, 2025, the pagoda belonged to Làng Nùng (Nà Mầu) hamlet, Đạo Đức commune, Vị Xuyên district, Hà Giang province. Under Resolution No. 202/2025/QH15 and Resolution No. 1684/NQ-UBTVQH15 in 2025, Hà Giang province merged with Tuyên Quang province to form the new Tuyên Quang province, and Đạo Đức commune merged with Vị Xuyên town and neighboring areas to form Vị Xuyên commune, Tuyên Quang province.
When does the Sùng Khánh Pagoda Festival take place each year?
The main festival at Sùng Khánh Pagoda takes place annually on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month (the First Full Moon), combining Buddhist peace prayers inside the hilltop sanctuary with the traditional Tày and Nùng Lồng Tồng (Going-to-the-Field) agricultural festival in the Làng Nùng fields below, featuring còn tossing, tug-of-war, stick pushing, and Then singing.