In the late thirteenth century, a Vietnamese king who had twice helped drive back Mongol invasions gave up his throne, put on a monk's robe and founded a Zen school of his own. Trần Nhân Tông's Trúc Lâm school, the Bamboo Grove sect, became the most distinctly Vietnamese form of Buddhism, and the temples connected with it are scattered across the hills of the north-east, from Yên Tử mountain to Côn Sơn and Kiếp Bạc. Thanh Mai pagoda, on a forested slope in the Chí Linh area, is one of these places, associated with the early patriarchs of the school, and it belongs to the Yên Tử, Vĩnh Nghiêm, Côn Sơn and Kiếp Bạc complex that UNESCO listed in 2025.
The pagoda sits among old trees, with stone steps, stupas and halls that have been rebuilt and restored over the centuries, and the setting has the calm, green, slightly misty quality that suits a Zen retreat. Pilgrims climb up for festivals, especially in spring after the lunar new year, when the hills fill with incense smoke and visitors.
Riding in northern Vietnam is an experience of its own. Traffic on the main roads is dense and chaotic, with motorbikes in their thousands, trucks, buses and cars all sharing the road on terms that are not always obvious to a newcomer. Patience, defensive riding and a liberal use of the horn are part of the culture. The roads up into the hills toward the pagodas are narrower, steeper and quieter, winding through forest and lychee orchards, with variable surfaces and the odd buffalo.
Fuel is easy to find in towns and along main roads, with small stations and roadside sellers in every village. Chí Linh is the nearest town with full services, and the cities of Hải Dương and Bắc Giang are within reach. Food is a joy: phở for breakfast, bún chả, grilled pork with noodles, fresh spring rolls, and the lychees of the region in early summer, sold by the basket along the roads.
The best time to come is autumn, from October to December, when the weather is dry and comfortable. Spring is busy with festivals and can be drizzly, and summer is hot, humid and rainy. Climb the steps slowly in the early morning, when mist hangs in the trees, and listen for the temple bell carrying across the hills.