Tay Ninh, 90 km outside of Saigon, has “one very particular claim to fame,” says Atlas Obscura -- “a spectacular temple that is the headquarters of the Cao Dai movement, a religion founded in 1926 claiming millions of Vietnamese adherents.” It’s not only a “holy temple,” but also a “spectacular construction that attracts tourists from many places around the country and the world,” writes Vietnam Online. Thos is the main cathedral of the religion, and a “holy and sacred atmosphere reigns all over the temple,” which has a “colonnaded hall and a huge sanctuary” and is decorated with “dragon symbols and painted in white, red, pink and blue paint.”
Cao Daism is a “perfect synthesis of the world’s most powerful religions,” says Vietnam Online, combining Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism, Hinduism, Geniism and Taoism. Cao Daism -- which means “the high tower” in Vietnamese -- was established in the early 1920s in southern Vietnam. “The philosophy of a Cao Daism practitioner is to perform faithfully to his self, his family, society and the world at large,” explains Vietnam Online.