Where to explore in Saigon now?…

Should you coming from somewhere off Saigon, the question above will be simple.

From the Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, City Central Post Office, to Thu Thiem Tunnel, Phu My bridge, Cu Chi Tunnel…The “brand new” Saigon offers hundreds sites that will take tourists days to travel and exlore.

However, if you have the same background as I do – an origin Saigonese – who “suffers” everyday at 3/2 Street, drinks Vợt cafe at Phu Nhuan district, or listens to planes landing above Quang Trung Street, then the story is kinda different.

That story is about people who find Saigon desperately boring, whenever they want to hang out.

Before we jump into our journey today, let me introduce myself. I – MOINK20 – is a historical nerd.

I am fascinated by History. But please, not those bullsh*ts you would find in Vietnamese textbooks.

What I’m talking about, is “local history”: family origins, neighborhood’s; history of people, places; history in each sip of tea, or each spoon full of rice. The word-of-mouth legends, not so academic, but interesting enough for a boring day.

Anyway, today, I’m going to show you one of some really “local” stuffs I’ve found in my city: The Hoa’s relics.

FYI: Most Vietnamese articles assume that Hoa people = Chinese. However, to my view, those people had come to Vietnam centuries ago, and played an important role in creating the modern Saigon today, both in economy and culture. They have also been considered one of the 54 ethnic minorities of Vietnam. Thus, I refuse to see Hoa people as Chinese.

Thien Hau temple (pagoda) – Tue Thanh Club

Overall, Saigon is famous with beautiful Buddhist pagodas: Van Hanh monastery, Hoang Phap pagoda, Vinh Nghiem pagoda…However, Hoa people’s Chua Ong (God pagoda) and Chua Ba (Goddess pagoda) are antique attractions that must not be easily ignored.

It was raining when we found a ash-covering wall on Nguyen Trai St. (district 5).

A month before, when heading to Ninh Thuận, I asked my friend if she knew some unique places in Saigon, and Thiên Hậu pagoda was her suggestion. Being a super old piece of my city, with more than 250 years of age, this pagoda is a must-go spot if you really want to explore Saigon.

The porcelain sculpture describing two dragons fighting over one pearl – a significant style of Vietnamese architecture
Chinese opera theater’s stories – things that appear on nowhere else except Hoa people’s pagodas
Normally, people build up these pagodas for two purposes: either to worship their God, or to have a community house. That’s why this place can be called Club
A feature of Thien Hau pagoda is that 100% of its material were sent from China. Another special thing is that, this pagoda is a rare “Chua Ba” (Goddess temple), as most of Hoa people’s pagodas are “Chua Ong” (God temple)
Inside, Thien Hau pagoda has 3 sections: The Goddess altar, the worship area, and the communial area
The altar section; FYI, Goddess Thien Hau came from a business family in China. Having been followed Taoism (one of the biggest religions in China) since young age, she became a master, and received magical powers. One day, when her dad and two brothers were travelling on the sea, their ship was broken by a heavy typhoon. Being at home with mother, Thien Hau managed to extract her spirit out of her body, and flew to save her family. She held her father by teeth, two brothers by hands. While they were going back home, her mom asked Thien Hau‘s body something that she must answered. The moment she opened her mouth, her father fell to the sea and died. Thien Hau could only save two brothers of her.

Ever since, people built  the Goddess pagoda to worship Thien Hau, and pray for her protection, should they are about to have a voyage.

When I first came to this pagoda, I instantly felt how old and holy this place was. Everything is “alive”, means that the very antique items are still being used daily, not exhibiting. Without any kind of tourist instruction, anyone who wants to know about this place must either search for information beforehand, or renting a tour guide.

The very precious incense stand, made in XIX century

 

A few pilgrims were praying in their mouths. Some foreigners got lost in their own silence and curiosity. For MOINK20 myself, that ancient breath in each pillar, amulet, incense…were like surronding, which intrigued and thrilled me at the same time. Being an exhausted traveller, I have seen so many half-hearted, “fake” holy auras of the attractions. But that day, Thien Hau pagoda had charmed me with its “real” ritual.

The wall full of amulets
Circular incenses – a symbol of luck wishes
The pilgrims praying for good things to come

God Temple (pagoda) – Nghia An Club

To make things clear, these “God” and “Goddess” has nothing to do with each other :v

After leaving Thien Hau pagoda, we went to God pagoda, which is 500 metres away.

If you have ever been to any God (or Goddess) pagoda, you will find them very alike, from the structure to the purpose
The only difference is the God: in God pagoda, people worship Guan Yu (a general in Three Kingdoms war)  

Hào Sỹ Phường 

Some years before, if someone asked me whether I wanted to go to Bitexco Financial Tower or to Hào Sỹ Phường, I would have chosen the Tower. But now my answer is different.

We went to Hào Sỹ Phường at 5pm.

For most of the passengers on the street, Hào Sỹ Phường looks exactly like…a facade house.
But once I’d been inside, I realized Hào Sỹ Phường is actually a neighborhood, inhabited by both Hoa and Kinh people. It goes very long in the alley, and has two storeys.
The beauty of this place, I would say, doesn’t come from some stunning features; instead, it is the culture that matters.
The mixture in lifestyles is undeniable here. Though the apartments in Hào Sỹ Phường looks messy and old, it is, however, living. Unlike some old quaters of Vietnam, which looks amazing, but full of rotten culture and money of tourist, this neighborhood can bring about the most realistic views of an old Saigon

Jade Emperor Pagoda – Phuoc Hai Pagoda

Oops, am I making a mistake here?

Cuz’ this place is really well-known?

Yeah, it does. But still, this is an exception.

The entrance of Jade Emperor Pagoda

 

 

The big question is: why does a pagoda worships Jade Emperor, not Buddha? Well, the answer is: this place originally was not built up to be a pagoda, but a temple for Jade Emperor. Later on, when the Vietnamese Buddhist Association took over this place, it then became a pagoda, and worshiped Buddha as well. 
Catfishes and turtles – symbols for luck – are raised in the pagoda. Most of the time, people come here to ask for children
Being a place of Jade Emperor – the ultimate God in Chinese culture – Phuoc Hai pagoda can be considered as the most sacred place of Hoa people in Sai Gon. Thus, the number of pilgrims here are much more than other places
As far as I can remember, this was the first time I saw a place to worship Chinese Jade Emperor. The atmosphere here is pretty holy and scary. Since the statues were made from wood, and have been through many years receiving oil lamps from pilgrims, they are now dark and glossy

Despite not having astonishing view, the extreme architecture and the importance place in Hoa culture has caused Jade Emperor pagoda big awareness from people. After President Obama’s visit, this pagoda became even more popular

Some last words

Overall, tracing the Hoa’s relics can not result in such small amount of answers.

With more than 300 years of history, there must of course be hundreds, maybe thousands of things that I haven’t known yet. That belief of mine is like an adrenaline shot, making me want to “hunt em’ all”.

Khanh Tr.