Tay Ho Palace

On the east bank of West Lake, there stretches out into the lake a strip of land.

This is Tây Hồ village, an ancient village of Thăng Long. In the village, right on the water edge, there is a temple dedicated to Liễu Hạnh, who lived in the 17th century and was deified as Thánh Mẫu (Holy Mother), rank-ing first in the pantheon of Vietnamese folk religious beliefs. The places dedicated to Holy Mother Liễu Hạnh are sometimes called đền (temples) or phủ (palace). Tay Ho Palace was built according to the following tale:

Tay Ho Palace

In the early 17th century, one morning, Dr. Phùng Khắc Khoan (1528-1613) and his friends were boating on West Lake when they met a beautiful girl. They talked and composed poems together. When Phùng asked her name, the girl smiled, read a poem and then suddenly vanished. By analyzing the poem, Phùng came to realize that she was Liễu Hạnh Holy Mother. After that event, Tây Hồ villagers built a palace to be dedicated to her.

Tay Ho Palace

Today, this site attracts many pilgrims who come to pay homage to the Holy Mother and to admire the natural beauty here.