Entree Kibbles

Sunday, December 28, 2025

The Spiritual Attractions (including Monasteries, Religious statues and Structures) @ Sunworld Fansipan in Sapa [Vietnam]

After taking what was the world's longest cable car ride from Hoang Lien station to Fansipan station, we were finally at the last leg of our ascent to the Roof of Indochina! A photograph to memorialize the moment, in the bloody cold!

It was windy and when I checked the temperature, it was close to zero degree celcius! While the cold can be addressed by donning thicker clothings, the wind had the uncanny ability to explore openings to freeze our bodies! My lips were literally cracked by the time I left three hours later.

A notice on the step that warned of the strong wind.

I don't need to be warned as I can feel it!!!

My limited Buddhism knowledge assumed this was a dharma wheel, filled with succulents. A search on the web revealed that I was correct. A dharma wheel represents "Buddha's teachings and the path to enlightenment, often depicted as a chariot wheel symbolizing movement through the cycle of life and death (samsara)".

First platform with a few wooden structures. Given the passing clouds, they lent an aura of mysteriousness to the whole area. If not for the large group of visitors, it would have been serene and peaceful.

The Grand Belfry - also known as the Guard Tower; standing tall at 32.8 meters, it featured a squarish 15.5-meter x 15.5-meter layout that was stood out from the rest of the structures.

My intention was to climb up on our way back but we kind of missed the turn, and we couldn't find a path from the fansipan cable car station. In addition, the fog made the climb redundant since there wouldn't be any view available anyway.

New structure! The thing about Sunworld in general is that construction never quite stops. Even at Sunworld Bana Hills in Danang, there always seems to be new things.

Bich Van Zen Monastery - which we would come back to later on our way back as the objective then was to first conquer the summit of the Fansipan!

Given the fog, we can't see beyond a few hundred meters! On a clear day, it would have been spectacular! A cousin of mine visited a few weeks later and she was much luckier!

Photo taken at the fansipan funicular station; yes, we could have walked up to the summit but we figured taking the funicular would save us more time, and energy! Not to also mention that my dad was already 70 plus years old. Ok, we were lazy too.

After conquering the summit (more photos here) and warming ourselves at Cafe Du Soleil (review here), it was a downward walk said to be about 600-meter long.

So glad we didn't attempt to climb up to the summit as the steps were quite steep! While it was cold, we didn't encounter frost which would have made the surface a lot more slippery, and dangerous.

Reaching the Kim Son Bao Thang Pagoda; located at an elevation of over 3,000 meters, this temple consisted of the "Three Treasures Hall, the Ancestral Hall and two corridor wings".

The interior elaborate opulence contrasted with the exterior wooden architecture; while I can't identify who were the deities / gods / monks, I can at least confidently say that the corridor wings housed the eighteen arhats from Buddhism.

Instead of stone lions, the above looked more like a snake.

Empty Kim Son Bao Thang Pagoda; even though some visitors would make their way down via the stairs, I am guessing that most would just fork out extra dough for the return ticket using the funicular train instead.

On one hand, the covers helped to protect the pagoda's architecture, although on the other hand, it would also protect the heads of tall individuals from any potential injury and insurance claim. No issue for shorties like me.

11-floor stupa within the compound of Kim Son Bao Thang Pagoda. Made of stone, it has a shimmering lotus shaped top cast from copper! Can't really see it; thanks to the fog.

Photographs of the family in front of Kim Son Bao Thang Pagoda and the Stupa. The wind continued to be strong, and I can feel my nose running!

A closed section.

Making our way to an imposing structure from a distance away.

It might seem far but distance was only about 50 meters away.

Inaugurated in 2018 and cast from bronze, it's a statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva that was 12-meters tall and weighed 18 tonnes! Given its golden sheen, it's like a beacon of color amidst the grey stone compound.

Still can't see shit.

Another structure beckoned but we decided to give it a miss as it's many steps down and I knew we would need to climb up again! In the thinner oxygen environment, let's love ourselves first and don't push our limits.

My brother in law didn't even both climbing up to the Guanyin statue! While you can't see from the photograph, the clouds were in fact fleeting at high speed!

More photographs.

Making our way down the steep stairs.

Please do invest in hiking sticks!

Pavilion would have been a great spot to check out the scenery ahead but unfortunately, we didn't manage to catch anything! I didn't even know what was beyond! Maybe good to install a panorama display for the benefit of visitors.

My sisters and dad with the background of succulents. p.s. do you know the difference between succulent and cactus? "While all cacti are succulents, not all succulents are cacti".

The Alahat Path, which would be known as arhat path in our context. As expected, 18 bronze arhats "statues in varying postures and facial expressions", each of them standing at "2.5-meter tall and weighs between 500 and 600 kilogram".

Another mammoth statue right ahead!

More photographs of the fogginess beyond. Well, it didn't dampen the happiness from my dad though as he was absolutely in love with the place.

My brother in law was always ahead of us!!

I didn't realize the funicular train we took earlier to the summit would drive past the statue! Oh well, always good to blame the weather and fog. On a much clearer day, this group of photographs would have turned out much better.

The great Amitabh buddha statue; recognised on the asian book of records as "the highest seated bronze statue at an altitude of 3,000 meters above sea level". Statue itself is 21.5-meter tall and the lotus pedestal had a diameter of 12.3 meters.

Four heavenly kings guarding the statue. And notice that crane on a tortoise, which was unique to Vietnam? You can find its origin on the post I had for "The Temple of Literature - Also Vietnam's First University @ Hanoi".

An opening below the statue!

It housed the Buddha's relics which were stored in a seven-floor crystal tower. I am just wondering if the Buddha would enjoy having his relics being honored all over the world, as the main teaching of Buddhism is more about making merits in life, or so I thought.

Photos time!

Tracks of the funicular beside us.

See how crowded the train was!

Down, down the long flight of stairs!

Known as the Nine-Level Waterfall, it's actually 30-meter high and flanked by 150 stone steps on each side! But you know what was the puzzling thing?

Where was the water!?

I was expecting some cascading water!

Maybe too cold.

Back to the funicular station.

A shop selling kitschy souvenirs; that's one thing that the Sunworld group could do better. Their idea of souvenirs can be very traditional and old-school, like useless displays that would likely collect dust.

Bich Van Zen Monastery again, which also included the Saint Tran Hung Dao Temple and the Three Holy Mothers Temple. According to the information panels, designs of the structures for the spiritual attraction zone were based on the Tran dynasty.