Phu Chau Floating Temple

An ancient temple on an islet in the Vam Thuat River, with jade-green tiled roofs and ceramic mosaics blending Vietnamese and Chinese styles

On a small islet in the middle of the Vam Thuat River, Mieu Noi (the Floating Temple), also known as Phu Chau Mieu, was built around the late 18th or early 19th century. Before 1975, it was already one of the famous pilgrimage sites for the people of Saigon – Gia Dinh. In 2014, it was classified as a City-level Architectural and Artistic Relic. Since 1992, through many restorations, the temple has become more spacious with modern materials while retaining its ancient architectural structure rich in Vietnamese and Chinese culture. The temple faces south and is built in the shape of the character "Tam" (三), with three buildings connected by skylit courtyards; the roofs are covered with jade-green glazed yin-yang tiles in two closely stacked tiers. The entire structure is elaborately decorated with ceramic and porcelain mosaics of dragons and phoenixes; the walls on both sides are inlaid with pottery shards depicting folk-belief figures. The interior is divided into three parts: the front hall worships Maitreya Buddha, Buddha Shakyamuni, the Earth Mother and Quan Am Chuan De, with two reliefs of the Eighteen Arhats along the walls; the middle hall worships the Monkey King (Te Thien Dai Thanh), surrounded by carved openwork wooden screens depicting fairies offering peaches; the main hall worships the Five Elements Holy Mother (Ngu Hanh Thanh Mau), the temple's principal deity, along with Ba Chua Xu of Chau Doc, Guan Yu (Quan Cong) and Judge Bao (Bao Cong). Each year the temple celebrates three festival days of Ngu Hanh Nuong Nuong: the 15th day of the 2nd, 4th and 8th lunar months. To reach the temple, visitors take a small cross-river boat from a little landing next to the An Phu Dong ferry pier. In 2026, An Nhon Ward discussed plans to develop a cultural and heritage tourism space along the Vam Thuat River, with Mieu Noi as its highlight. The temple is also a stop on the "Thanh pho thanh binh tu dong song" (The Peaceful City from the River) canoe journey on the Saigon River and the "Vong quanh Go Vap voi nhung dieu co xua va hap dan" (Around Go Vap: Ancient and Fascinating) programme.

English text: machine translation from the Localis platform — proper names kept in Vietnamese.