Quan Thanh Temple is a Taoist temple build during the Ly Dynasty (1010-1225) and can be found in Hanoi. They have built this place to honour ‘Tran Vo’ the ‘God of the North’ which was beloved by all local Taoists and used the tortoise and snake as symbols of power. The name Quan Thanh therefore resembles the temple’s meaning as it translates to ‘Place of the Gods’.
To protect Hanoi from bad spirits and influences they built four sacred temples in the four wind directions of the city of which Quan Thach temple is the protector of the North. The other three temples are Bach Ma (East), Kim Liem (South) and Than Linh Lang (West). A true masterpiece that you will find in this temple is the four metre tall bronze statue of Tran Vu holding a snake and tortoise. In Vietnamese animal symbolism the snake stands for wealth and the tortoise for protection.
The complex consists of a beautiful gate, bronze statue, bronze bell, shrines, carved poems, banyan trees and much more. If you are into history and culture it is surely a great sight to visit. To enter the complex it will cost you VND 10.000 (US$ 0.5) and it is located at the edge of Truc Bach Lake which takes roughly fifteen minutes to reach from the Old Quarter.