Kh'leang Pagoda

Sóc Trăng is home to three main communities - Kinh, Hoa (ethnic Chinese) and Khmer - and is known for some of the most famous religious buildings in the Mekong Delta, especially its Khmer pagodas. Among them, Kh'leang is the one to visit for classic southern Khmer architecture. If the Bat Pagoda is remembered for its bats and Đất Sét Pagoda for its clay statues, Kh'leang is about the building itself, and about the Khmer religious life still lived around it.

According to local tradition, Kh'leang was the first Khmer place of worship in Sóc Trăng, older even than the Bat Pagoda. Records kept at the pagoda date the first main hall to around 1533, when the area was still sparsely settled, and it was built from whatever was at hand: bamboo, wood, stone and earth. Nothing of those early buildings survives.

The current main hall dates from the early 20th century - sources give dates between 1905 and 1918 - so, unlike many Khmer pagodas in Sóc Trăng that have been rebuilt recently, it is genuinely old. In 1990 it was recognised as a national architectural and artistic relic.

The name Kh'leang is usually explained as meaning 'storehouse' - some say a royal treasury of the old Khmer court, others a rice store - and it is linked to the origin of the name Sóc Trăng itself, from the Khmer Srok Kh'leang. Today the pagoda is a centre of Khmer Theravada (Nam Tông) Buddhism in Sóc Trăng: several monks live here, a school teaching the Khmer language sits on one side of the grounds, and the Pali Buddhist college next door trains novices from across the Mekong Delta.

Kh'leang Pagoda is on Tôn Đức Thắng street in the centre of Sóc Trăng, on the same street as Som Rong Pagoda. It's easy to reach by taxi, motorbike or private car from anywhere in town.

The pagoda sits in grounds of nearly 4,000 m², surrounded by decorated walls with Khmer motifs and shaded by old trees - above all, rows of tall sugar palms (thốt nốt), a tree closely tied to Khmer life, which make the courtyard look like Cambodia. The complex includes the main hall, sala, monks' quarters, a meeting hall and a display house, arranged in a balanced layout.

The main hall rises high on a raised base, echoing the stilt houses of traditional southern Khmer homes, with a tall, many-tiered roof and gracefully curving eaves. Carvings of the naga serpent, the Krud (Garuda) bird, the celestial figure Kâyno and stylised leaves cover the building, and the interior has lacquered columns and painted walls and ceilings. Some decoration and layout show Vietnamese and Chinese influence alongside the Khmer style. The highlight inside is a 6.8 m Buddha statue cast in 1916, and cabinets hold old bronze Buddha statues and Khmer or Pali scriptures.

Kh'leang is quiet - you may meet only a couple of monks - and that's a large part of its charm. The downsides: the main hall is dark and crowded with objects, the display cabinets are poorly lit, some areas need better maintenance, and the grounds are smaller than at other big Sóc Trăng pagodas. The crematorium and stupas holding ashes can feel a little eerie to some visitors.

Kh'leang suits travellers who enjoy southern Khmer architecture, Sóc Trăng culture, old pagodas and an easy sightseeing day in town. Remember it is an active place of worship: dress modestly, speak softly and avoid inappropriate photos in the main hall.

For a Sóc Trăng pagoda trail, allow half a day to a full day for Kh'leang, Som Rong, the Bat Pagoda and Đất Sét Pagoda, and add Chen Kieu Pagoda on the road towards Bạc Liêu.