Hanoi’s Sacred Guardians
1. East: Bach Ma Temple The oldest of the four sacred sites is Bach ma (White Horse) Temple, located at 76 Hang Buom Street, Hanoi. Bach Ma Temple was built in the ninth century to worship Long Do (Dragon’s Belly) – a patron saint of Hanoi. Legend has it that Cao Bien, a Tang Dynasty official, try to use his magic power to overcome a deity, but lost. He is said to have built an altar to exorcise the spirit on this site In 1010 King Ly Thai To decided to move his capital from Hoa Lu to Thang long. But each time he tried to build a citadel on the new site, it collapsed. The King sent his staff to Long Di temple to pray to the supernatural powers for help in building his citadel. Suddenly, the saw a white horse racing from temple The king ordered the citadel to be built on the path taken by the galloping horse. This time, the construction was successful. King Ly Thai to elevated Long Do to the position of tutelary deity of Hanoi. From that time onwards, the temple was known as White Horse The first among the four Thang Long … Read more






