Looking in from 148 Kim Hoa Street, visitors see a pillar gate beside a crescent pond, followed by a broad brick courtyard ending at nine large brick steps (gạch vồ) ascending to the elevated mound where the ceremonial gate and grand hall stand. These large dark-red bricks are characteristic of the Lê dynasty, and those nine steps remain in their original position. Climbing them means treading directly upon an architectural vestige from centuries ago.
Inside, the artifact of foremost documentary value is not a statue, but a monolithic stone stele over two meters tall inscribed with classical Chinese text on both faces. The stele is titled Cao Sơn Đại Vương thần từ bi minh, meaning Inscription on the Stele of the Temple of Cao Sơn Đại Vương. It is the treasure of the sanctuary and the primary historical text explaining why this Southern Guardian Temple was raised.
ICao Sơn Đại Vương
The principal deity venerated here is Cao Sơn Đại Vương (inscribed on the stele as Cao Sơn Đại Vương Thượng Đẳng Thần). The words cao sơn mean lofty mountain, stating plainly the deity's origin as a mountain god. The sanctuary therefore also bears the names Nam Trấn Từ (Southern Guardian Temple) and Cao Sơn Temple. Alongside Cao Sơn Đại Vương, the rear sanctuary co-worships two female deities, Princess Động Hồ Trưng Vương (a Lê-dynasty princess) and Princess Huệ Minh, together with an altar to the Three Holy Mothers (Tam Tòa Thánh Mẫu).
In traditional Vietnamese religious classification, Cao Sơn Đại Vương belongs to the rank of nature deities (nhiên thần), specifically spirits of mountains and forests. Folk legends weave him into the national foundation myth of the Hùng Vương era, recording that he was one of the fifty sons of Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ who followed their mother into the mountains, bearing the title Lạc General of Vũ Lâm (governing the Vũ Lâm - Phụng Hóa mountain region in present-day Ninh Bình), and fought alongside Sơn Tinh (the Mountain Saint of Tản Viên) against Thủy Tinh while safeguarding the borders of Văn Lang. His birth date is recorded in temple lore as the 16th day of the third lunar month, which remains the temple's main festival day today.
Integrating an ancient mountain spirit into the Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ lineage and subsequently into medieval dynastic history is a characteristic pattern of Vietnamese folk belief. The nature-spirit layer came first, while the national-lineage layer and the Lê-dynasty state-protection layer were added across successive eras without erasing one another.
Regarding the library's classification, Kim Liên Temple is placed under Ancestor Veneration (indigenous ancestor and tutelary spirit worship), because the veneration of village tutelary deities and nature spirits is an indigenous Vietnamese tradition without a founder, canonical scriptures, or ecclesiastical church. One should not assign Cao Sơn Đại Vương to Taoism simply because the sanctuary belongs to the same Four Guardian Temples system as Quán Thánh Temple. Quán Thánh is originally a Taoist temple honoring Huyền Thiên Trấn Vũ within the Taoist pantheon, whereas Kim Liên honors an indigenous Vietnamese mountain deity.
The Chinese characters at the top of this page follow the name Kim Liên từ. The most authoritative ancient Chinese inscription preserved on site is the opening title on the stone stele, Cao Sơn Đại Vương thần từ bi minh.
A point that often puzzles visitors is that this site is sometimes called Kim Liên Temple (đền Kim Liên) and sometimes Kim Liên Communal House (đình Kim Liên), and both names are historically accurate. In traditional terminology, a temple (đền) is a shrine dedicated to a deity, whereas a communal house (đình) is the central hall of a village where the village tutelary god is worshipped and communal affairs are deliberated. Here the two functions merged into one, because the royal temple built by Emperor Lê Tương Dực in 1509 to honor Cao Sơn Đại Vương was later expanded by the residents of Kim Hoa Ward (later Kim Liên Village), who adopted the very same deity as their village tutelary god and used the complex as their communal house. Documents emphasizing its role as the Southern Guardian in the Four Guardian Temples call it a temple, while those emphasizing village communal life call it a communal house. The library's directory uses Kim Liên Temple for consistency across the Four Guardian Temples of Thăng Long.
The name Kim Liên (Golden Lotus) itself came later. This land was originally Kim Hoa Ward (Golden Flower Ward, in Thọ Xương District). In the first year of the Thiệu Trị era (1841), out of naming taboo for Empress Mother Hồ Thị Hoa (mother of Emperor Thiệu Trị), the Nguyễn court changed Kim Hoa to Kim Liên. The five-century-old original name still survives directly in the name of the street running before the temple gate, Kim Hoa Street.
IIThe guardian temple founded latest of the four
Among the Four Guardian Temples, the other three trace their origins to the Đại La or Lý periods. Kim Liên Temple alone was founded in 1509 at the dawn of the 16th century, several hundred years after the earliest shrine. That timeline demonstrates that the four-direction protective ring around Thăng Long was not a single blueprint executed all at once in 1010, but a sacred urban structure gradually completed across multiple dynasties.
- 1509Building of Cao Sơn Temple in Kim Hoa WardIn the winter of the Kỷ Tỵ year (1509), when Prince Lê Oanh (later Emperor Lê Tương Dực) marched from Thanh Hóa to Thăng Long to depose the tyrant Lê Uy Mục, three generals named Nguyễn Bá Lân, Nguyễn Hoàng Dụ, and Nguyễn Văn Lữ passed through Phụng Hóa District (present-day Ninh Bình), came upon an ancient temple to Cao Sơn Đại Vương, and prayed for divine aid. Within ten days the campaign succeeded. Upon ascending the throne, Emperor Lê Tương Dực ordered a temple built in Kim Hoa Ward south of the capital.
- 1510Lê Tung composes the Cao Sơn stele inscriptionIn the Canh Ngọ year of the Hồng Thuận era (1510), Minister of Rites and Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion Lê Tung (transcribed in some sources as Lê Trung) composed by royal command the inscription 'Cao Sơn Đại Vương thần từ bi minh' extolling the deity's merits.
- 1620Earliest surviving royal investiture decreeThe earliest decree among the collection of 39 Lê- and Nguyễn-dynasty royal decrees preserved at the temple dates from the 2nd year of the Vĩnh Tộ era (1620).
- 1772Re-erection of the stone stele and expansion as a communal houseOn the 1st day of the 9th lunar month in the 33rd year of the Cảnh Hưng era (1772), villagers erected the monumental stone stele carved with Lê Tung's 1510 inscription and expanded the architecture to serve simultaneously as the village communal house, including the nine Lê-dynasty brick steps.
- 1841Renaming of Kim Hoa to Kim LiênIn the 1st year of the Thiệu Trị era (1841), Kim Hoa Ward was renamed Kim Liên Ward, giving the sanctuary its modern name of Kim Liên Temple (or Communal House).
- 1990National heritage siteThe complex was ranked as a National Historical and Architectural Heritage Site in 1990.
- 2000 and 2009Major restorations for the 990th and 1000th anniversaries of Thăng LongThe sanctuary underwent major conservation in 2000 for the 990th anniversary of Thăng Long - Hanoi and comprehensive restoration starting in February 2009 ahead of the Millennial Anniversary of Thăng Long - Hanoi.
- 2022Special national heritage siteThe Prime Minister signed Decision No. 93/QĐ-TTg on 18 January 2022 ranking the Four Guardian Temples of Thăng Long, including Kim Liên Temple, as a Special National Heritage Site.
Regarding the date of the stone stele, documentary sources reflect two complementary layers that the library states clearly. The text of the eulogy was composed by Lê Tung in the Canh Ngọ year of the Hồng Thuận era (1510, recorded in some sources as the 2nd year and in others as the 3rd year of Hồng Thuận), which is carved explicitly on the stone. At the same time, art-historical analysis of the stele forehead shows that the relief carving of two dragons flanking the sun (featuring saddle-curved bodies and flame-like manes) bears the stylistic hallmarks of 18th-century Restored Lê sculpture, matching the colophon line recording that the stele was erected on the 1st day of the 9th lunar month in the 33rd year of the Cảnh Hưng era (1772). Local legend relates that when a massive green stone slab drifted to a nearby Red River wharf, Kim Hoa villagers offered prayers and four elders drew the stone ashore with a crimson silk sash to re-carve Lê Tung's 1510 text in full.
Regarding the dimensions of the stele and the number of royal decrees, published figures show minor variations. Official heritage records list the stele's height as 2.43 meters (width 1.57 meters, thickness 0.22 meters), while a few press articles write 2.34 meters due to transposed digits. The collection of royal decrees is recorded in specialist studies as 39 decrees (26 from the Restored Lê dynasty, 1 from the Tây Sơn dynasty, and 12 from the Nguyễn dynasty), while a few articles mention 33. The library cites the standard archival figures while noting the variants for reference.
IIINine Lê-dynasty brick steps and the monumental stone stele
The complex stands atop a high earthen mound on the eastern shore of the former Kim Liên Lagoon (historically called Đồng Lầm Lake, part of which was later filled in for Xã Đàn Road), and the entire sanctuary faces west looking out over that former expanse of water. Its architecture unfolds across two distinct elevation levels. The lower level before the mound comprises the pillar gate (cổng trụ biểu), a crescent pond (hồ bán nguyệt), a broad brick courtyard, and two rows of side halls (giải vũ / tả hữu vu). At the back of the lower courtyard, nine large Lê-dynasty brick steps ascend to the top of the mound, where stand the three-bay ceremonial gate (nghi môn), an upper courtyard, the five-bay grand hall (đại bái), and the three-bay longitudinal rear sanctuary (hậu cung) arranged in a T-shaped (chữ Đinh) plan.
Housed in a stele pavilion on the right side of the courtyard. This monolithic gray-green stone stele measures about 2.43 meters high, 1.57 meters wide, and 0.22 meters thick, resting on a stone turtle base 1.92 meters long and 1.46 meters wide. Its forehead is carved with two dragons flanking the sun, and both faces bear 47 columns totaling over one thousand Chinese characters recording the legend of Cao Sơn and Emperor Lê Tương Dực's founding of the temple in 1509.
A 4.3-meter-wide staircase of 9 steps linking the lower courtyard to the ceremonial gate atop the mound, laid with large dark-red Lê-dynasty bricks (gạch vồ). It is the oldest architectural component still standing in its original position.
The 5-bay grand hall atop the mound features timber trusses carved with the four sacred animals and displays the horizontal plaque 'Nam phương chính khí' (Righteous Qi of the Southern Quarter). Behind it, the 3-bay rear sanctuary enshrines the dragon throne and spirit tablet of Cao Sơn Đại Vương at the center, flanked by altars to Princess Động Hồ Trưng Vương and Princess Huệ Minh.
The sanctuary preserves 39 royal decrees issued across the Restored Lê, Tây Sơn, and Nguyễn dynasties (the earliest dated 1620) conferring titles upon Cao Sơn Đại Vương and the two co-worshipped princesses.
A further note on the stone stele highlights what makes this monument historically distinctive. The inscription states candidly that the ancestral temple of Cao Sơn Đại Vương stood in Phụng Hóa District (in the present-day Nho Quan area of Ninh Bình Province). When Lê Tương Dực's forces marched toward Thăng Long in 1509 to overthrow Lê Uy Mục, his generals paused at the Phụng Hóa shrine to pray for the god's unseen assistance, and within ten days their campaign succeeded. The new king consequently built this sanctuary in Kim Hoa Ward south of the capital in thanksgiving.
That epigraphic record explains why the Southern Guardian Temple has the latest foundation date among the Four Guardian Temples (1509), even though the mountain deity venerated within belongs to the oldest mythological stratum of the Hùng Kings era.
IVThe lie of the land and orientation
This section presents the library's reading through the lens of traditional geomancy, not content copied from stone steles or official heritage dossiers. The library notes this clearly so readers can distinguish historical records from geomantic interpretation.
First is cardinal quarter and the Five Phases. The South belongs to the Fire phase, crimson in color, associated with summer and full yang radiance. In classical East Asian capital planning (the sage ruler faces south to govern all under heaven), the southern side is the front facade toward which the monarch looks from his throne. Placing a guardian temple in the South therefore means securing the front gateway of Thăng Long. That the Southern Guardian Temple was established in the early 16th century brought the four-direction protective ring of the capital to full completion.
Second is the phase of the deity relative to the phase of the direction. Cao Sơn means lofty mountain, and mountains in the Five Phases belong to Earth. The South belongs to Fire, and by the cycle of mutual generation, Fire generates Earth. Placing a mountain deity (Earth) to guard the Southern quarter (Fire) sets the spirit in a generative position where the Fire qi of the South nourishes and reinforces the mountain-like stability of the god. This forms an intriguing counterpart to Quán Thánh Temple in the North (where both Huyền Thiên Trấn Vũ and the Northern quarter belong to Water).
Third is the elevated mound and westward orientation over the lagoon. Kim Liên Temple was built atop a high earthen mound in former Kim Hoa Ward (approached via the nine large brick steps), while the sanctuary itself sits on the east and faces west, looking out over the vast former Kim Liên Lagoon (ancient Đồng Lầm Lake) as well as the crescent pond directly before its gate. In delta geomancy, a rising earthen mound acts as a miniature mountain (sơn đột), a fitting seat for a mountain deity amidst flat plains. At the same time, orienting the temple facade westward toward the broad lagoon creates the bright hall (minh đường) with water gathering (thủy tụ), drawing in cool breezes over the water to temper the heat of the Southern Fire quarter.
Finally comes the Five-Phase structure of all Four Guardian Temples of Thăng Long. Reading all four sanctuaries together reveals that each holds one cardinal direction and one elemental phase, with Bạch Mã Temple in the East (Wood), Voi Phục Temple in the West (Metal), Quán Thánh Temple in the North (Water), and Kim Liên Temple in the South (Fire). Those four phases of Wood, Fire, Metal, and Water encircle the center of the imperial capital (Thăng Long Imperial Citadel and Nùng Mountain), which corresponds to Earth at the center. The Four Guardian Temples are thus not merely four shrines at four gates, but a complete Five-Phase mandala anchored upon the central soil of the capital.
VFestival on the sixteenth day of the third lunar month
The traditional festival of Kim Liên Temple takes place annually on the 15th and 16th days of the third lunar month, with the 16th serving as the main festival day commemorating the birth of Saint Cao Sơn Đại Vương (in addition, the 12th day of the eighth lunar month is observed as the autumn death anniversary of the deity). On the 16th day of the third lunar month, allied communal houses across Hanoi that co-worship Cao Sơn Đại Vương also bring offerings in ritual fellowship.
| Lunar date | Ritual | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 15th day of 3rd lunar month | Announcement rite and traditional haircutting contest | Ritual cleansing of sacred objects and preliminary invocation. In the morning, a traditional haircutting skill competition is held in the courtyard to honor the founding ancestor of Kim Liên Village's barber craft and serve the public. |
| 16th day of 3rd lunar month | Palanquin procession and seven-tiered feast offering | Main festival day (birthday of Saint Cao Sơn). A grand procession of 4 palanquins winds along Kim Hoa Street and the former Kim Liên Lagoon area, accompanied by the offering of signature 7-tiered feast trays prepared by the 7 neighborhood groups (giáp) of Kim Liên Village. |
| 16th day of 3rd lunar month | Grand sacrifice and incense offering | Classical sacrificial rites performed by the male and female ritual teams, followed by incense offerings from residents and delegations from sister temples in the Four Guardian Temples. |
| 16th day of 3rd lunar month | Traditional performances and folk games | Thăng Long festival drum performances, dragon dances, four-sacred-animal dances, chầu văn singing, and folk games around the courtyard and crescent pond. |
| 12th day of 8th lunar month | Autumn commemoration (Lễ kỵ) | Autumn ritual commemorating the day of Cao Sơn Đại Vương's passing according to temple legend. |
A distinctive cultural feature of the Kim Liên Temple Festival is immediately apparent to visitors. Because this monument is both a royal Southern Guardian Temple founded by the Lê court and the village communal house of Kim Liên (ancient Kim Hoa), its festival seamlessly blends two ritual layers, solemn state-style sacrificial rites honoring the guardian deity and vibrant village communal festivities featuring the seven-tiered feast trays and the lively haircutting competition of local artisans.
This fusion of a national guardian temple and a village communal house upon a single earthen mound illustrates the enduring vitality of indigenous Vietnamese spirit worship, where a primeval mountain god serves simultaneously as protector of the imperial capital and intimate tutelary patron watching over the households and crafts of Kim Hoa Street.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Số 148 phố Kim Hoa, phường Kim Liên (phường Phương Liên cũ, quận Đống Đa cũ), Hà Nội
- Getting there
- Located at 148 Kim Hoa Street, Kim Liên Ward (formerly Phương Liên Ward, former Đống Đa District), Hanoi, just north of Xã Đàn Road (Ring Road 1). The name of Kim Hoa Street directly in front of the temple gate preserves the ancient name of Kim Liên Village prior to 1841.
- Coordinates
- 21.0107, 105.8381
Because this is an active and solemn place of worship, visitors should dress modestly, remove hats before entering the grand hall and rear sanctuary, walk quietly and speak softly, and place donations inside the merit boxes rather than on the dragon thrones or ritual objects. In particular, regarding the 1510 stone stele housed in the right-hand pavilion, visitors must not touch, rub the inscribed surface, or make unauthorized ink rubbings so as to protect the ancient carved characters. When ascending the nine Lê-dynasty brick steps, please tread gently to help preserve this original architectural feature.
Nearby places in the library
VIIContribute To This Page
Contribute photos, information or video for Kim Lien Temple
Góp ảnh, thông tin hoặc video cho Đền Kim LiênEveryone 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
Whom does Kim Liên Temple worship
It primarily worships Cao Sơn Đại Vương (Lạc General Vũ Lâm), a mountain deity from the Hùng Vương era who according to legend was one of the 50 sons of Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ who followed their mother to the mountains and fought alongside Sơn Tinh against Thủy Tinh. In addition, the rear sanctuary co-worships two female deities, Princess Động Hồ Trưng Vương and Princess Huệ Minh.
Why is this monument called both Kim Liên Temple and Kim Liên Communal House
Because the monument combines two historical functions. Originally it was a royal temple dedicated to Cao Sơn Đại Vương built by Emperor Lê Tương Dực in 1509 to guard the southern approach of the capital. Later, residents of Kim Hoa Ward (now Kim Liên) expanded the grounds, revered Cao Sơn Đại Vương as their village tutelary deity, and used the hall as their village communal house (đình). The name Kim Hoa was changed to Kim Liên in 1841 under Emperor Thiệu Trị.
What makes the stone stele at Kim Liên Temple special
It is the 'Cao Sơn Đại Vương thần từ bi minh' stele, whose inscription was composed in 1510 by Minister of Rites and Grand Secretary Lê Tung (re-carved and erected in the 33rd year of Cảnh Hưng, 1772). Standing about 2.43 meters tall and 1.57 meters wide, the monolithic stone slab bears 47 columns of Chinese characters across both faces, recording how Cao Sơn Đại Vương at Phụng Hóa (Ninh Bình) aided Emperor Lê Tương Dực in putting down a rebellion in 1509 and why the king built this temple in Kim Hoa Ward.
Why was Kim Liên Temple founded later than the other three Guardian Temples
Whereas Bạch Mã, Voi Phục, and Quán Thánh Temples trace their roots to the Đại La and Lý periods (9th - 11th centuries), Kim Liên Temple was built in 1509 in the early 16th century by Emperor Lê Tương Dực after deposing Lê Uy Mục. This shows that the Four Guardian Temples of Thăng Long took shape progressively across several dynasties rather than being built all at once.
When does the Kim Liên Temple Festival take place and what are its unique customs
The main festival takes place annually on the 15th and 16th days of the third lunar month (with the 16th as the main day celebrating Saint Cao Sơn's birth). Alongside a 4-palanquin procession and classical sacrificial rites, the festival is famous for the offering of 7-tiered feast trays by the village neighborhood groups and a traditional haircutting competition on the morning of the 15th day honoring Kim Liên Village's traditional barber craft.