About 10 km northeast of downtown Danang is the Son Tra Nature Reserve. From Son Tra, visitors can see Danang with the Han River glistening in the sun, many tall buildings near the beach and beautiful beaches.
In Son Tra Nature Reserve, there is the famous Linh Ung Pagoda with its 67m-high statue of the Goddess of Mercy, looking out over the East Sea protecting ships at sea.
Goddess of Mercy statue facing Linh Ung Pagoda, Danang.
According to the legend of the inhabitants of the Son Tra Peninsula, during the time of King Minh Mang (Nguyen Dynasty, XIX century), there was a Buddha statue out of nowhere drifting on a sand dune here. They believe that it is a sign of good luck. Because of this, people set up shrines. The sand dune where the Buddha statue floated was later given the name Bai But (which means Buddha land on earth) is also where the Ling Ung pagoda is built today.
