Som Rong Pagoda in Soc Trang blends spiritual serenity with Khmer architecture and a record-breaking Buddha statue.
Som Rong Pagoda in Soc Trang City has stood for centuries, showcasing traditional Khmer architecture. It is home to Vietnam’s largest reclining Buddha statue, attracting a steady stream of visitors and Buddhist pilgrims from across the country.
Also known as Botum Vong Sa Som Rong, the pagoda is located on Ton Duc Thang Street in Soc Trang City, Soc Trang Province. Its striking beauty and deeply rooted Khmer cultural design have made it a major spiritual and tourist destination.
Originally built from wood and thatched leaves in 1725, Som Rong Pagoda has been maintained and restored across 12 generations of abbots. Today, it stands as a spacious and elegant religious site.
According to the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Soc Trang Province, the statue at Som Rong Pagoda is officially recognized as the largest reclining Buddha statue in Vietnam.Som Rong Pagoda in Soc Trang is one of the oldest and most culturally significant Khmer temples in southern Vietnam.
According to locals, the pagoda’s name comes from the abundance of native Som Rong trees that once grew abundantly around the area.
Covering an area of around 5 hectares, the complex includes the main hall, sala (gathering hall), stupa, and various religious structures. The main hall is supported by a system of concrete pillars and features a distinctively layered roof structure with three overlapping tiers. Each corner of the roof is adorned with stylized dragon motifs, symbolic of Khmer artistic heritage.
Where the roof connects to the columns, decorative carvings of the goddess Keynor and the divine bird Krud reinforce the visual strength and grandeur of the structure.
At the entrance, a smoke-gray stupa measuring nearly 100 square meters in area, 25 meters in height, and 11 meters in width welcomes visitors. Completed in 2012 with a construction budget exceeding 1.2 billion VND (approx. 47,300 USD), the stupa was funded by donors and Buddhist followers.
A young girl in traditional Khmer attire poses for a photo beside the reclining Buddha statue at Som Rong Pagoda.
The stupa features four faces with four entrances, symbolizing the Buddhist virtues of loving-kindness (metta), compassion (karuna), joy (mudita), and equanimity (upekkha). Each staircase is flanked by intricate carvings of the sacred Naga serpent and traditional Khmer patterns.
With the desire to provide a more spacious and dignified area for worship, the head monk initiated the construction of a new sala building in 2017. Built on a plot of over 1,100 square meters with a cost of nearly 16 billion VND (approx. 630,000 USD), the structure combines modern and traditional design elements. The former sala next to it has been repurposed into a library housing more than 1,500 books, serving monks, students, and local residents.
Som Rong Pagoda is most famous for its monumental statue of the reclining Shakyamuni Buddha, which measures 63 meters in length, 22.5 meters in height, and weighs 490 tons. The statue rests on a 28-meter-high platform and features soft shades of light blue and white. Construction began in October 2017 and was completed over four years.
Vietnamnet.vn
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