I always thought spiritual refers to the ghostly realm but it actually refer to a personal connection focusing on inner peace. Hence, when I saw a directional sign pointing to a spiritual zone, I thought it would be beneficial for my mental health to check it out! From the map as above, it was more religious than spirituality although one might still achieve spirituality in a religious abode. Nevertheless, religions can be contentious and let's just put things in perspective here; the focus here would be more for Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism.
Let's proceed up to the stairs to tranquility.
The grand staircase with four stone dragons greeting visitors and a welcome archway with four Chinese characters. Frankly, I don't know if I should read left to right or right to left; should be the former which somewhat translates to hilly realm.
During lunar new year, such plants can be bought in Singapore and I wondered if the orange-like fruits would taste as sweet as those sweet mandarin oranges. Well, I am not going to embarrass my country by plucking this off and satisfying my curiosity. These yellow flowers look like trumpets!
Interestingly, they are called Angel's Trumpets.
For East Asian religions, there is no angel though. For Taoism especially, they are more known as fairies. The above sculptured plant was made in the image of a common hand gesture in Buddhism.
Mischievous monk statues dotted the pathway beyond the archway. I am classified as mischievous among my peers, especially when my zodiac animal is a monkey! Imagine when I was in primary and secondary schools; the whole class was filled with "monkeys"!
Abandoned pathway.
I really don't know what to make of this!
Frankly, it seemed like a torture instrument!
Tea corner for visitors to go in and relax with a cup of tea, while marveling at the varied, contrasting sights of Sun World Bà Nà Hills. I didn't have time to do so though, given the limitations of a day tour. Shall share a review of the Tru Vu Tea Corner in my upcoming trip!
Linh Phong Tower - a nine-level, four-edge pagoda that was heavily protected by the four great heavenly kings. See those multi-colored flags? They are known as five-color, five-element flags, and you can read more here. One of the four great heavenly kings. Many of those born at the same time as me would remember the drama serial, Journey to the West, where monkey king battled with the four kings who were blessed with magical weapons we wished we had!
Bells on each level of the pagoda.
An altar within the pagoda.
What's that covered hole on the ceiling?
Linh Phong Thien Tu Pagoda - the English word, pagoda, in Vietnamese means temples since pagodas usually just mean towers to most people of Chinese ethnicity. This temple is also the largest compound in the spiritual zone.
You may read more from the above.
Temple interior with buddhism being the focus. Now, should I call this temple or monastery? Sometimes I am confused as we tend to use such terms interchangeably.
My eyes were drawn to the offerings though; the table filled with fingered citron, also known as Buddha's hand fruits, pun unintended! They were huge and bigger than my fists!
Alex pretending to be a monk for one day.
One who was tasked to strike the bell, periodically.
The side hall with more statues.
Another building behind the main temple that seemed to honor past kings and notable Vietnamese figures like Mr Ho Chi Minh, also known as Uncle Ho and the Father of Vietnam. I can't confirm as the nameplate was blocked by the offerings.
Restricted area with a sheltered pavilion that overlooked the hills.
Campanile; English is my native language and I have no idea what this term means! According to Google definition; campanile is "an Italian bell tower, especially a free-standing one". Seriously, what?!
Linh Chua Linh Tu Temple - before checking out the Italian bell tower, which looked suspiciously like it's of East Asian architecture, let's check out this last temple at Spiritual Zone.
This temple worshipped the holy mountain mother goddess, one of four mother goddesses that covered the four main realms of heaven, mountains, water and earth. I did catch a statue of guanyin statue within though.
I was fascinated with the above; two snakes that adorned the horizontal beam above the altar. As a person who loves legends and myths, it's not hard to deduce that the two snakes represent the famous green and white snakes from one of China's four great folktales; the Legend of the White Snake. Instead of stone lions facing outwards, there were baby stone elephants facing inwards! I bet families with kids would attempt to sit on the stone chair provided, too narrow for adult butts like mine.
Question; water lily or lotus?
Answer: I am guessing the former.
Wall with intricate carvings facing the main hall of Linh Chua Linh Tu Temple. In most places, the walls are mainly plain and white and served as privacy and to reflect the inside of the hall.
Pavilion with a large sitting statue of the prosperous laughing buddha. It was also prophesized that the laughing buddha is maitreya, the Buddha of the Future.
Finally checking out the campanile.
Honestly, it sounds like companion.
View of the surroundings from the second level of this bell tower, which was made entire of iron wood, and located on the highest point of bana hills at 1,487 meters.
A fantastic viewpoint to show visitors the amazing buildings of Sun World Bà Nà Hills, where east meets west, resulting in a simulating visual treat that also merges historical architecture across countries thousands of kilometers away. The one-ton copper bell.
My eyes popped out when I saw the above; technology creeping into religious abodes! The use of robot to strike the bell! It's actually quite funny to see the orange machinery in play as there was the irritating sound of machinery that broke the silence before you hear the therapeutic ring.
Check out the video here!
Last building that I had yet to check out. The stele hall, which kind of looked unassuming given its size and that from afar, you might have assumed it to be a simple pavilion offering visitors shelter and rest.
Let's go!
A 1.8-meter high stele that had words on the four sides; two of which were shown above, in Chinese and Vietnamese. From the information plaque, they were supposed to be romantic poems on Bana Hills and Da Nang City. I am not cultural enough to understand the beauty of poems.
Time to leave!
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Location Map
Da Nang, Vietnam
Floor Plan of Spiritual Zone As above.
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