Khanh An Monastery with Japanese architecture in the heart of Saigon

Khanh An Monastery (An Phu Dong Ward, District 12, Ho Chi Minh City) is famous for its Asian architecture and green space. This is a place that attracts people to come to worship, visit pagodas, and many young people come to attend short-term retreats and listen to sermons.

Khanh An Monastery stands out with its eye-catching red color and impressive architectural style, and is considered by many to be "a miniature corner of Japan in the heart of Saigon" or "as beautiful as the temples of the Land of the Rising Sun", attracting tourists to sightsee and take photos.

According to Venerable Thich Tri Chon, abbot of Khanh An Monastery: This was originally a small hermitage built by Patriarch Tri Hien in 1905 for meditation, surrounded by fields, ponds, and rice fields. During the resistance war against the French, this was a gathering place for many patriotic soldiers and was burned down many times by the French colonialists.

After the 2000s, the monastery was restored many times. On July 27, 2007, Khanh An Monastery was recognized by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee as a historical - cultural relic and a city-level scenic spot. The monastery was completed in its current form in 2016. According to research, the monastery was built entirely in the style of ancient Vietnamese pagodas, in the style of Northern Buddhism, with strong East Asian architectural features.

The monastery is made up of main colors such as: gray of tiles, reddish brown of bricks, white of lime, yellow - the color of patterns symbolizing copper material... Khanh An Monastery does not have dragon, phoenix images or colorful decorative motifs like many other pagodas in the South because this is inherently a royal culture.

The monk's quarters and guest house area remind many people of Japanese temples because of the wooden structure or wood-like paint and the red tones commonly seen in Japanese architecture.

The monastery has a large campus, with many large and small trees interwoven, making visitors feel cool and comfortable. Around the campus are placed hexagonal wooden and paper lamps. Around the corridors, the main hall, the monks' house... are hung many types of lanterns, lit on full moon days, death anniversaries or meditation courses...

This place attracts many tourists to visit, worship and take pictures.   Khanh An Monastery is also famous for its regularly held Mindful Living retreats, attracting 500 - 1,000 participants, and regularly holds social welfare and charity activities to help those in difficult circumstances.

Photo: Tam Tri Nguyen

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