At the beginning of the year, the scene of Van Nien, an ancient pagoda more than 1000 years old by West Lake

Van Nien Pagoda is located on the west shore of West Lake, with the address of the side gate is 364 Lac Long Quan Street, Tay Ho District, Hanoi City. Van Nien Pagoda, formerly known as Van Tue, was built in the 11th century under the Ly dynasty, that is, it is now more than 1,000 years old. Van Nien Pagoda is not too large, but it is located near West Lake, so the landscape is airy and the air is fresh. This is a place that attracts a large number of people and tourists to admire and enjoy the scenery. After more than 1,000 years of existence, with many restorations and embellishments, the pagoda is still a wooden work of art with bold patterns and motifs of Eastern culture.  The pagoda worships Buddha and Mother worship, including 5 compartments, 3 halls. The houses are built in the east direction according to the layout of the site including three pavilions, the main pagoda, the model hall, the monk's house, and the auxiliary house. Surrounding the architecture is an ancient tree garden, helping to enhance the beauty and tranquility at the meditation door, creating a unique cultural and artistic relic. On the roof of the pagoda, there are three million words embossed "Ten Thousand Year Temple".  The architecture of the three pavilions, the front street, the ancestral house, the guest house, the Quan Am floor... using the traditional material of wood. Traditional patterns on columns, trusses... are meticulously carved, using familiar decorative themes of Vietnamese people such as Tu Linh and Tu Quy. Inside the pagoda, there are also 46 round statues, including 26 Buddha statues, 20 Mother statues, and Ancestor statues. Some statues date from the Le Trung Hung period (17th and 18th centuries) and some from the Nguyen period. In addition to the value of Buddhist architecture, the pagoda also preserves collections of cultural and historical value such as the ordination of the gods of the Le and Tay Son dynasties, bronze bells dating back to the Nguyen dynasty... The bronze bell "Van Nien Tu Chung" was cast under King Gia Long (1802 - 1820) with an inscription describing Van Nien Pagoda as an ancient landmark in the west of Thang Long citadel. In 2010, on the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long – Hanoi, Van Nien Pagoda held an enthronement ceremony and inaugurated the Jade Buddha Temple. The statue of Buddha Shakyamuni is carved with a rare natural jade from Myanmar with a height of 1.3m and a weight of 600kg. The Buddha statue made of sacred gems is considered "one-of-a-kind" in Vietnam.  Source: VNN