Trần Hưng Đạo Temple

You end the route at the Trần Hưng Đạo Temple, one of the busiest places of worship in the city. Here military history and belief in spirits meet.

1The general

Trần Quốc Tuấn, known as Trần Hưng Đạo, was the commander who led the defence of Đại Việt against the Mongol invasions of the Yuan dynasty in the thirteenth century. His most famous victory was on the Bạch Đằng River in 1288, where he drove stakes into the riverbed to trap the enemy fleet at low tide. He died in 1300. In the courtyard you will see a stele bearing an extract from his “Proclamation to the Officers”, a text every Vietnamese schoolchild knows.

2The saint who casts out demons

Over the centuries the general became Đức Thánh Trần, “Saint Trần”, venerated in temples across the country. Popular tradition credits him with power over evil spirits; one legend tells that he defeated the demon Phạm Nhan, who tormented women, and that is why his image is invoked to protect the sick. Each year this temple marks the anniversary of his death, on the 20th day of the eighth lunar month.

3The temple

It was completed on a small scale in 1932, on the land of a former pagoda, and from 1957 it was rebuilt to a design by the architect Nguyễn Mạnh Bảo. Offerings are fruit, flowers and votive paper; meat is not offered here.

4What to look for

• The gilded characters above the gate.
• The statue of the general in the courtyard.
• The stele with the “Proclamation to the Officers”.