Pho Quang Pagoda

A Northern-style pagoda in Tan Binh, founded in 1951, recently given a major renovation and reopened at the end of 2023

Pho Quang Pagoda is a very familiar place to Saigon residents during holidays and Tet. Construction was begun in 1951 by Most Venerable Nguyen Viet Tao, Dharma name Thanh Nha. In 1955, Venerable Thich Tri Dung and a number of Buddhist followers who had moved from the North to the South bought land to establish a Northern Vietnamese cemetery, and a pagoda was built here with donations from the faithful to chant sutras day and night for the souls of the departed. The pagoda was named Pho Quang, and the road leading to it, opened for public use in 1985, was also named Pho Quang Street. In 2022, the entire site was cleared, all structures were renovated and the master plan was redesigned to be more spacious; after the rebuilding, the pagoda reopened in December 2023. What sets Pho Quang apart from most pagodas in the City is its Northern Vietnamese architecture: multi-tiered roofs with upturned eaves pointing skyward, traditional fish-scale tiles, and two rows of carved stone staircases leading up to the great hall. Within the pagoda grounds is the grave of patriot and martyr Quach Thi Trang, a Buddhist who died in 1963 during a protest against the policy of religious inequality. The pagoda also has a gallery of Buddhist works such as paintings and Buddha statues. Visitors can combine Pho Quang with Pothiwong Pagoda and Vien Giac Pagoda for a distinctive pagoda tour in the Tan Binh area.

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