The Chua Ngoc Hoang (Jade Emperor Temple, 玉皇殿) is located in Ho Chi Minh City 胡志明市 formerly and still popularly known as Saigon, 西贡.
In the early 1900s, the Cantonese migrants built this temple dedicated to the Jade Emperor, 玉皇, the supreme deity in the Taoist pantheon.
The sculpture of the Jade Emperor is in the centre of the main hall. On his sides are Quan Am, Guanyin, 观音, and the Supreme Deity of the North, 玄天上帝. There are various smaller shrines dedicated to other deities in the Taoist pantheon and a pair of 4m high sculptures of Quan Thanh Long 青龙大将军 on the right and Quan Phuc Ho on the left 伏虎大将军 on the left. Both the generals are extremely well sculpted and made from papier-mâché.
There many inscription boards inside the main hall that gives a clue to the history of Jade Emperor Temple. These inscription boards were presented by leader of the Chinese community and indicate their names and the year in which inscription board was presented to the temple. Most of them dated to the late Qing dynasty during the reign of Emperor Guang Xu 光绪 (1875 to 1908）.
The side hall is dedicated to the City God, Cheng Huang. The walls of this hall are decorated with carvings of the different courts of hell depicting the punishments for different crimes and sins of mortals. On the second floor of another side hall is the Guan yin hall.
According to local sources, the Jade Emperor Temple was classified as a Buddhist Monastery after the Vietnam reunification in 1975. It has since been officially known as Phuoc Hai Tu, Fuhai Monastery, 福海寺. The entrance of the temple bears the name of the monastery but the original name Jade Emperor Temple remains popular with locals and tourists.
Jade Emperor Pagoda
Vietnamese: Phuoc Hai Tu,
English: Fuhai Monastery