THE ARCHITECTURE OF THIEN HAU TEMPLE

Saigon is a big industrial city which attracts many immigrants from different places to settle down and search for a valuable job. These people also bring their cultural identity, their religious belief, and their languages; as a result, Saigon city is a heaven of cultural combination. In Sagon, there were Chinese immigrants from the North aggregating and organizing various tiny communities, the place where most Chinese people living located Cho Lon downtown. So I wonder what the difference between Vietnamese and Chinese, especially architecture and spirit culture.

My photobook is about Chinese architecture and religious life. That is the reason I choose Thien Hau temple, one of the most popular places impresses tourists, as well as the young generation. Thien Hau is the Chinese Sea Goddess who used her spiritual power to save fishermen from a typhoon. So these people decided to build a temple for her to remember and pray before sailing. Thien Hau temple appeared more than 250 years, it still maintains the Chinese ancient structure and the patterns after restoring. This place is living evidence of Chinese texture and spiritual life.