Quan Am Phat Dai

There are places that people visit not to look around, but to turn their hearts toward the sea.

Quán Âm Phật Đài is one of those places. People in this region call it Mẹ Nam Hải. Mẹ means mother, and the name is warmer and closer than the official one. Before 2025, the address was Nhà Mát ward, in Bạc Liêu city. Since the province merger, the area belongs to Hiệp Thành ward, in Cà Mau province. However the names on the paperwork change, people still call it Mẹ Nam Hải of Bạc Liêu.

Standing at the gate and looking ahead, a visitor meets the sea wind first, and then the open space. The whole site faces the sea. That is why the statue of Quán Thế Âm stands here, her face turned toward the water. Quán Thế Âm is the bodhisattva of compassion. People of the coast hold the belief that she stands looking out to sea, watching the boats go and return, and protecting those who make their living on the water.

Work on the statue of Mẹ Nam Hải was started in the years from 1973 to 1975. It was restored in 1990, then in 2004, then in 2008. In 2003, the provincial government of Bạc Liêu approved a project for the Nhà Mát tourist area. From 2005, the large parts were built and improved: the gate, the Thiên Thủ Thiên Nhãn Temple, the Địa Tạng Temple and the ritual courtyard. All of this is the foundation of the Quán Âm Phật Đài seen today.

Then, in 2023, a larger renovation was launched. A stone-laying ceremony was held, with the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha of Bạc Liêu province and the local authorities taking part. The cost was estimated at nearly 800 billion dong, to be raised from the community. The plan covers about thirty parts. They include a courtyard for ceremonies, the Buddha monument, the Lam Tỳ Ni garden, a garden of thirty-two statues of the bodhisattva's incarnations, a guesthouse and a place to rest.

Past the ritual courtyard stands the main statue of Mẹ Nam Hải, about 11 meters tall, not counting the base. Its face is turned toward the sea. The statue rises on high ground, and from far away its white shape stands out against the sky and the waves behind it.

On either side of the statue are two places of worship, arranged as mirror images of each other: the Thiên Thủ Thiên Nhãn Temple and the Địa Tạng Temple. Both were built from 2005. They are central parts of the site, and people stop in every day to light incense and pay their respects.

Next come the Lam Tỳ Ni garden and the garden of thirty-two statues of the bodhisattva's incarnations. Each statue stands among green trees, in a posture of its own. The air here is deep and quiet, in a way very different from the noise outside the gate.

The Quán Âm Nam Hải Festival is held here, and the state has recognized it since 2008. On festival days, people come from all over. The sound of chanting, the smoke of incense and the rite of offering flowers make an atmosphere that ordinary days do not have.

Quán Âm Phật Đài is not a sight to be seen and forgotten. It belongs to the faith of the people of the coast, who see a woman standing and facing the sea, watching over the water and protecting those who go out and come home. Through all these years, they have kept finding their way back, to where the sea wind passes and the statue of the Mother stands quiet in the light.