Quan Am Pagoda

Quan Am Pagoda at 12 Lao Tu in District 5 is a Chinese temple in Cholon, the Chinatown of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, dedicated to Quan Am, the goddess of mercy. It is believed to date to the 19th century and remains an active place of worship for the local community, with devotees arriving to burn incense and make offerings. The temple is built around a series of courtyards and halls. Ceramic scenes with figures from Chinese legend decorate the roofs, and the halls hold carved wooden panels, gilded altars and a main altar to Quan Am. Large incense coils hang from the ceiling and burn slowly above the worshippers, filling the halls with fragrant smoke and creating dramatic shafts of light. Smaller altars are dedicated to other deities, and the courtyard has a pond with ornamental plants. The atmosphere is that of a working temple rather than a museum, so visitors encounter families praying, offering fruit and burning joss paper. A visit usually takes thirty to forty-five minutes. Weekday mornings are the quietest time to visit, while the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, as well as festivals, are the busiest and the incense smoke is at its heaviest. Entry is free, and donations are welcome. Visitors should dress modestly, speak quietly and avoid photographing people at prayer. The pagoda is about twenty minutes by car from Ben Thanh Market and roughly ten minutes on foot from Thien Hau Pagoda, so the two are naturally combined into a single walk through Cholon's temples and markets.