Architecture of Vietnam: Religious Temples
Khai Quoc was the first Buddhist temple built in the 6th century by King Ly Bi. From 7th century onwards there was a certain shift of paradigm in architecture. Vietnam witnessed the construction of a large number of Buddhist temples. Some of the famous temples were the Phat Tich, the Dam and the Dien Huu. The Dien Huu is renowned for its architecture. It is built in the shape of a blossomed lotus. The temples of this period had multi storied towers and the interiors decorated with beautiful statues. The designs and decoration had Vietnamese motifs of dragons, elephants, chrysanthemum, and lotus. Some of the sculptures manifest a strong influence of the Cham art.
The temples from the time of the Mac era contained a huge collection of wooden statues. They included statues of Buddha, saints and royalties cured from jackfruit wood. Architecture of Vietnam in the early nineteenth century witnessed the restoration and expansion of many existing temples in cities like Ha Noi, Hue and Saigon.
The architecture of Vietnam is also a reflection of how the culture of Vietnam evolved through the ages. Influence from the west resulted in the replacement of the traditional materials for the construction of temples. Now iron, steel and concrete was being used for the construction. New temples showed clear influence of architecture from Japan, China, India and Europe.