A pagoda with distinctive architecture in HCMC

Minh Nga

The façade of Buu Long Pagoda’s presbytery with a height of 56 meters. On top is a big wind chime which continuously produces a melodious sound

Buu Long Pagoda in District 9, HCMC is frequented by tourists because of its unique architecture. Built in 1942 on a hill near the Dong Nai River, the pagoda was restored in 2007 with a mixed architecture of India, and Southeast Asian countries such as Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and of course Vietnam.

It is some 20 kilometers from downtown HCMC and is isolated from the neighborhood. Thanks to a lot of trees around the pagoda, visitors can feel pleasant as soon as they get to the road leading to the pagoda.

The 11-hectare Buu Long Pagoda is like a fairy world as it features small and big buildings for worshiping the Buddha that look like palaces in India, Thailand or Myanmar.

“It feels like India or Thailand, but with a little bit of Vietnam. I’m very impressed. I think it’s one of the most beautiful pagodas I have visited,” said a young Canadian woman identified as Robin, who was on a trip to Vietnam with her Vietnamese boyfriend’s family.

Inside the pagoda is a canteen serving vegetarian food.

There are several ways to reach Buu Long Pagoda, which is located at 81 Nguyen Xien Street, Long Binh Ward.

One of them is to pass through the Saigon River Tunnel to reach Mai Chi Tho Boulevard before making a right to Nguyen Thi Dinh Street and then making a left to Nguyen Duy Trinh Street. At the end of Nguyen Duy Trinh Street is Nguyen Xien Street.