
Vũ Song Vũ · Lives in Ho Chi Minh City7yr
Unlike other Asian nations, Vietnam doesn’t have many large or massive temples and pagodas. As Tim Tran and others have already stated, Vietnamese culture is heavily influenced by Confucianism. However, it’s wrong to say that Vietnam has NO HISTORICAL SITES IN THE FORM OF TEMPLE. Just because we didn’t build it big doesn’t mean we own none. Vietnamese believe in the harmony of nature so every shrine, temple and pagoda is always built within nature like on mountain, by the river/stream, etc. Furthermore, most of Vietnamese religious building (except for Christianity) tend to bend Buddhism, Taoism and indigenous religions together so they are considered highly sacred, seeking spirituality rather than emphasising on the architecture and size. Most of Vietnamese temples are small YET SUBTLE in terms of the decorating. Below are some of my favourite temples and pagodas.
Chùa Hương (Perfume Pagoda)