The One Pillar Pagoda is a unique Buddhist shrine and one of the most iconic and revered temples in Vietnam. This unusual little temple is built of wood and rests on a single stone pillar. Outwardly, the Pagoda resembles a lotus flower growing in the middle of a lake, and it is dedicated to the Vietnamese goddess of mercy Quan Am. The temple was built in the 11th century. by order of Emperor Lee Thai Tong in gratitude for the birth of a long-awaited son. In the middle of the twentieth century. it was blown up by the departing French army after Vietnam gained independence, but was soon rebuilt. Surrounding the Pagoda is a beautiful garden and behind it grows the Bo tree, which was a gift from India and is an offshoot of the tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment. Local residents and guests of the city often come to the temple with prayers for health and childbearing.