Hòa Phong Tower

Hòa Phong Tower is a tower located on the shore of Hoàn Kiếm Lake, Hà Nội, Vietnam, and is the only remaining ancient relic of Báo Ân Pagoda, a large pagoda built in 1842 during the Nguyễn dynasty.

This tower is different from the tower of the same name at Dâu Pagoda in Thanh Khương ward, Thuận Thành town, Bắc Ninh province (see image).

Báo Ân Pagoda was a Buddhist pagoda built around 1842 during the Nguyễn dynasty, with funding raised from the populace by the Governor of Hà Ninh, Nguyễn Đăng Giai. The pagoda was located on the eastern shore of Hoàn Kiếm Lake, with its front facing the Red River and its back against the lake. The pagoda had 180 compartments, with complex and elaborate architecture.

In 1888, the French demolished the pagoda to the ground to clear land for the construction of the Hà Nội Post Office, leaving only the Hòa Phong Tower at the rear of the pagoda intact.

The tower is three storeys high; the first storey has four doors and is thus also called the "four-gate tower" (tứ môn tháp), a common architectural style in Buddhist structures. The first storey has four arched doors, the second storey is inscribed with a large Sanskrit character; above the four arches are the names of each door:

Báo Ân Gate,

Báo Nghĩa Gate,

Báo Đức Gate, and

Báo Phúc Gate.

On the third storey, the east-west faces bear the name of the tower, "Hòa Phong", but on the north-south faces it is inscribed as "Báo Thiên Tower".