page_title: Quan Âm Pagoda (Ho Chi Minh City)
section_title: Main Hallway and Altar to Mazu
hierarchical_section_title: Quan Âm Pagoda (Ho Chi Minh City) / Layout / Main Hallway and Altar to Mazu
caption_attribution_description: English: This is the main altar in Quan Am Pagoda, Cho Lon, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The altar is dedicated to Thien Hau, who is also known as Mazu, the Lady of the Sea.
context_page_description: Quan Âm Pagoda is a Chinese-style Buddhist pagoda located on Lao Tu Street in Cho Lon, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Founded in the 19th century, it is dedicated to Guanyin, the Chinese goddess of mercy and the Chinese form of the Indian bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. The pagoda is popular among both Vietnamese and Chinese Buddhists; most of its inscriptions are in Chinese characters, but some have had Vietnamese labels added. In addition to veneration of Guanyin and the teachings of the Buddha, the pagoda also includes Pure Land worship of the Amitabha Buddha, elements of Taoism, and the folk worship of the Fujianese sea goddess Mazu in her role as the "Queen of Heaven".
context_section_description: The main altar inside the pagoda is dedicated to Mazu. Her Vietnamese name Thien Hau is a transcription of her Chinese epithet Tianhou, meaning "Empress of Heaven". She is also known as A Pho, a calque of her Cantonese epithet A-ma, meaning "Beloved Mother". Both roles cause her to be syncretized with both the Virgin Mary and Guanyin. In the center, Mazu stands tall dressed in multicolored robes and crown, her golden face serene and dispassionate.  The lady is flanked by much shorter attendants, and scowling demons stand guard in front of her.  The space in front of the altar is dominated by pillars decorated with relief carvings of coiled yellow dragons.  The dragons spiral downwards along the pillars, from heaven above to the ocean below.  Off to one side stands a large cast bronze bell.
  On the walls to the left and right of the altar are relief carvings depicting Taoist motifs.  On the one side, a group of Taoist Immortals fraternize in a mountainous landscape.  Two of them are playing a board game; one is making music.  On the other side, a group of celestial women accompany a youth riding a cloud between mountain tops.
caption: A dragon coils down a pillar in front of the altar dedicated to Mazu.
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