Nestled in a quiet, hidden little enclave in downtown Ho Chi Minh City, the Jade Emperor Pagoda offers a calming sanctuary from the bustle of the busy streets outside. It’s a small Taoist pagoda built by the Chinese community in 1909. It also goes by other names–Phước Hải Tự (Luck Sea Temple) and the pond crammed tortoises to the right of the main entrance hints at the other–the Tortoise Pagoda.
Inside is dark, lit with the scattered and garish light of fluorescent bulbs and candles, and crowded with statues, tributes, and an assortment of Chinese Taoist religious symbolism.
Photos of the Jade Emperor Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City
