Buu Son Tu (Precious Mountain Temple) was founded over 200 years ago by a Chinese family named Ngo. The temple is highly unusual in that nearly every object inside is made entirely of clay. The hundreds of statues and sculptures that adorn the interior were hand-sculpted by the monk Ngo Kim Tong. The pagoda is an active place of worship, and totally different from the Khmer and Vietnamese pagodas elsewhere in Soc Trang.
From the age of 20 until his death at 62, the ingenious Ngo Kim Tong dedicated his life to decorating the pagoda. Entering the pagoda, visitors are greeted by one of Ngo’s largest creations – a six-tusked clay elephant, which is said to have appeared in a dream of Buddha’s mother. Behind this is the central altar, fashioned from more than five tonnes of clay. In the altar are 1000 Buddhas seated on lotus petals. Other highlights include a 13-storey Chinese-style tower over 4m tall. The tower features 208 cubby holes, each with a mini-Buddha figure inside, and is decorated with 156 dragons.
