Jade Emperor Pagoda

The pagoda attracts people from all over the country and the world due to its distinctive interior and exterior designs, hundreds of statues and figurines, wood carvings, and the calming aroma of burning incense. The Jade Emperor Pagoda is an ancient, huge pagoda with a 2300-square-meter footprint, which provides ample space for everyone to wander and explore.

Numerous stunning murals adorn the pagoda’s walls and ceilings, which are designed in the Chinese religious architecture style. The roof is composed of brilliantly colored yin-yang tiles. On the roof and gables are a number of statues.

The pagoda’s main entrance is roughly 6 meters wide and 4.5 meters tall. It is a single-door gate with a single roof, unlike the majority of pagodas and temples in Ho Chi Minh City, which have three-door gates with multi-tiered roofs.

In reality, there are two entrances: the main entry, which is supported by two pink concrete pillars and has a tiled roof, and the side entrance, which is smaller. The smaller entrance is supported by two red-inscribed stone doors.

The pagoda is 2,300 square meters in size. The main entrance and major structure are joined by a courtyard located outside. There is a parking area for motorcycles, a Dharmapala Shrine, a lotus-filled fish pond, an incense burner and a candle-lighting area, a turtle pond, and numerous trees in the yard.

The pagoda is emphasized by a great number of shade-providing oak trees. Despite the scorching heat in Ho Chi Minh City, visitors to the pagoda’s courtyard will welcome the fresh, cool air. It is a world apart from the rest of Saigon, which consists of densely packed and buzzing skyscrapers.

Inside the pagoda are several wooden, porcelain, and cardboard paintings, statues, and shrines. The pagoda contains over 300 miniatures, including 100 constructed of cartridge paper.

There are three halls in the pagoda: the front hall, the middle hall, and the rear hall. Each hall is a unique example of old architecture. There is a Buddha statue in the entrance hall. On special occasions, the front and center halls are filled with singing and feasting.