VietNamNet Bridge - Mia pagoda is located in Duong Lam commune, Son Tay Town, Ha Noi. The temple stores the most art statues in Vietnam (287 statues).

Mia Pagoda is also called Sung Nghiem Tu and was built in Tran Dynasty. After many years, in 17th century the pagoda was deserted. In Duc Long Dynasty, Mia Pagoda was reconstructed in 1632 under the controlling of Nguyen Thi Ngoc Dong. After that, to respect her work, local people called her Mia Princess, sculpted her statue and placed in the temple for worship. After that, despite being restored several times, the main architecture and statues here were preserved carefully.

The highlight of Mia pagoda is a huge number of statues. The pagoda has totally 287 Buddha statues, with six bronze statues, 107 wooden statues and 174 earthenware statues. Each statue has it own expression, design, and color.

One of the very beautiful statues here is Tuyet Son Statue (Historical Buddha  statue). The Tuyet Son status shows the appearance of Amitabha when he cultivates on Tuyet Son mountain (Himalaya mountain) with 0.76 meter height. The statue looks quite thin with the face full of thoughts as he thinks for all people in the world.

The Thi Kinh bodhisattva statue – the bodhisattva of Vietnamese people - is very beautiful also. The statue is a gentle lady with an angel face that is hugging a baby. The statue is about the legend of Thi Kinh bodhisattva – a folk tale of Vietnamese people.

The architecture and statues system of Mia pagoda is recognized as one of the most important relics of the country. In May, 2006 Mia pagoda was listed in Vietnam Buddha culture record list of having the largest number of art Buddha statues.

Photo: Le Bich/VNexpress