Japanese Covered Bridge's Monkey Statue - Hoi An, Vietnam
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denben
N 15° 52.628 E 108° 19.561
49P E 213643 N 1757173
Also called the Pagoda Bridge, the Japanese Covered Bridge is the emblem of Hoi An. It is the only known covered bridge with a Japanese pagoda.
Waymark Code: WM17PV1
Location: Vietnam
Date Posted: 03/21/2023
Views: 1
The footbridge is 18 meters long and 3 meters wide. A small temple sits on the north end of the bridge, with the entrance in middle of the bridge overlooking the water.
Chua Cau's temple has ornate decor, including porcelain bowls used to cap the ends of the roof tiles and statues of a monkey and a dog to symbolize the year construction started and finished based on Chinese Zodiac. The temple historically has been an altar to Tran Vu with an annual festival dedicated to the deity on the 20th day of the 7th lunar month.
At the two bridgeheads stand two wooden adoration statues: a dog and a monkey. It is said that the construction of the bridge begun in the year of dog and was completed in the year of monkey. According to Japanese belief, these animals are considered to be sacred animals which are able to control the sea monster. Inside the pagoda, there is no statue of Buddha, except for a wooden statue of Bac De Tran Vo, the protector god of the region who brought happiness and wealth to the locals, at the pagoda’s main hall.
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