Confucian temples like this are “rare in southern Vietnam,” notes Lonely Planet. Located about 5 km from Vinh Long, this “large Chinese Confucian temple” was built in the mid-19th century, says Fodors. It’s decorated with “multicolor dragons and statues of Confucius,” which is “odd” because the monks here practice Buddhism.
Van Thanh Mieu means “a temple worshipping the holy literary genius”, explains Vietnam Tourism. That title that was “posthumously conferred upon Confucius,” who Vietnamese call Van The Su Bieu or “the eternal teacher.” The temple has three large entrance gates, and in front of the hall of the temple there’s a two-metre high stone engraved with the writing of Confucian scholars “to memorise the builders of the temple.”