Statue de Thap Bat La Han..But Thap Pagoda, located on the bank of the Duong River in Dinh To commune, Thuan Thanh district of the northern province of Bac Ninh, about 30 kilometres northeast of Hanoi, was built in the Tran dynasty, the 13th century. ..The pagoda is one of the finest pagodas in the country’s north and known as Vietnam’s first Buddhist centre. The pagoda was built under the dynasty of King Tran Nhan Tong in the 13th century and rebuilt in the 17th century in the Le Dynasty by Chinese Zen Buddhist priest Zhus Zhus, known as Chuyet Chuyet in Vietnamese...Legend has it that when leaving his former pagoda on the northern bank of the Duong River, priest Chuyet Chuyet saw a flock of flying swallows suddenly swooping down and perching on the ground on the southern bank, he decided to rebuild the pagoda there and named it Ninh Phuc Tu, which means “peace and bless”...The pagoda was built according to "Noi Cong Ngoai Quoc" architectural style, and includes 10 buildings spread over 100 meters, from the three-entrance gate to the bell-tower and back house...Two 13-metre towers, Ton Duc and Bao Nghiem, are made of white rock, making the pagoda seem higher, more majestic and peaceful. Some remains of the 17th century are kept here such as statues, valuable donations, Nine-Story Lotus Tower, Tuyet Son statue, Bao Nghiem tower, and Xa Ly tomb. The last renovations of the structure were carried out in 1992...The pagoda’s history is also connected with Queen Trinh Thi Ngoc Truc, a daughter of Lord Trinh Trang. After her husband died, her father forced her to marry King Le Than Tong (1619-1643). The Queen then devoted herself to the Buddhism religion and raised money to restore the Ninh Phuc Tu. During this time she wrote Ngoc Am Chi Nam, considered as Vietnam’s first Han-Nom (Chinese-Vietnamese) dictionary...The pagoda was built according to Noi Cong Ngoai Quoc (Nei Kung Wai Kwo) architectural style, that means it has the shape of the Chinese script Kung