Description of the attraction
The Jade Emperor Pagoda is the most famous pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City. The jade emperor in Taoism is called the lord of the heavens, the supreme god Ngoc Hoang. This pagoda was built in his honor in 1909 at the expense of the Chinese community.
The tiled roof is made according to the technologies of Chinese pagodas: special holes are made in it for natural light. In addition to the rays of sunshine, candles are always lit in the pagoda, and hundreds of incense sticks and incense spirals are smoldering. In the very center there is a gilded sculpture of the Jade Emperor. It is surrounded by statues of four guards. According to ancient legends, these guards defeated terrible monsters - a white tiger and a green dragon.
It is believed that the Jade Emperor stands on the threshold of heaven and decides who deserves to cross this threshold and who will go to hell. There are two symbolic halls in the pagoda - for the inhabitants of heaven and for those who did not get there. The hall, symbolizing the underworld, is rather gloomy: the statue of the devil is surrounded by images of ten circles of hell on the walls.
There is also a hall in the pagoda dedicated to Kim Hoa, the patroness of motherhood. Childless families come here, dreaming of offspring. Nearby is a huge sculpture of a red horse. There is a belief that a woman needs to stroke a horse and whisper to him about the desire to have a child. Along the walls of the hall itself there are ceramic figures of mothers and children.
Outwardly, the pagoda looks attractive with a striking facade decorated with carvings and a multi-tiered roof with figures of numerous gods, dragons and other oriental symbols. It is surrounded by a park of evergreen plants and flowers. A pond with turtles, symbols of good luck, is located in the courtyard. There are so many of them in the pond that the pagoda is sometimes called a turtle pagoda.
