Do Temple

Located in Dinh Bang Village, Tu Son Town, Bac Ninh Province, 15km from Hanoi. Do Temple worship the eight Kings of Ly Dynasty and is famous for its unique architecture.

Do Temple was built during the Le Dynasty and has been altered several times since. The major reconstruction took place under the reign of Le Trung Hung, in the 17th century.

Formerly, the Do Temple was famous for its architecture, highly praised through the verses:
"The architecture of the Do Temple is marvelous,
Worthy to the thousand-year-old history of Thang Long"

In front of the Temple lies a semi-circular lake, with clear and full water all the year round. The lake is connected with two ponds at both ends of the village, with the Tieu Tuong River in front of the village. In the center of the lake stands a square house reserved for water puppetry performances with two beautiful tiered roofs. To the south of the lake, there is a huge pavilion to preserve stone slabs inscribed with the merits of the eight kings of Ly Dynasty, and to the north of the lake, a 5-compartment floating house for visitors to take a rest.

Different parts of the Do Temple are being restored one after another by skilful craftsmen. A rolling of drumbeats was suddenly heard, signaling the start of a procession to bring the tablet of King Ly Thai To from the Do Temple to the Ung Tam Pagoda where the King's mother was worshipped for a reunion of the King and his mother. The procession was attended by a thousand of people, who expressed the spirit of the Vietnamese, i.e. "when drinking the water, think of its source".