Phu Chau Floating Temple (Mieu Noi)

The Phu Chau Floating Temple is situated on a small 2500 square meter dune surrounded by rivers on all four sides. On both sides of the river, the West bank is a residential area (in Ward 5, Go Vap), whilst the East bank is a specialized farming region (in An Phu Dong Ward, District 12), featuring the Mieu Noi and Ben Cat piers, which currently preserve a little garden scene of the ancient Gia Dinh land.

The south-facing front of the temple is constructed in the tam (三) style and consists of three buildings joined by two thin roofed courtyards. The roof of yin-yang tiles is coated with turquoise enamel and has two storeys packed closely together. On the rooftops of each structure are dragons adorning jade beads, the Nine Products, and a letter. On the four curving blades are depictions of Long, Ly, Quy, and Phung, as well as themes including string chrysanthemums, grape leaves, rivers… The walls are whitewashed in a dark pink hue, while the door eyelashes are colored crimson.

The entire construction of the temple is finely embellished with dragons, phoenixes, and porcelain; the domes are also intricately decorated with porcelain and jigsaw puzzles. The walls are meticulously decorated with folk characters. On the grounds of the temple, there is a si tree that is nearly a century old. There are benches scattered throughout the grounds allowing guests to stop and take in the scenery. A little shrine outside is devoted to Mr. Tiger, an early type of spirituality that the Chinese brought from their homeland. Inside the temple was a painted altar with five leaning tiger figurines.