An amazing and beautiful place. Got a student discount thanks to Dương.

This place was Vietnam's 1st university where the finest of scholars attended.

The names written on the stones that the turtles carry, are the names of all the scholars. It records the name, place of birth and achievement. The stones are called stelae and there are 82 of them. Some turtles looked so old that they reminded me of grandpas.
 The pond in the center of where the stone turtles are housed is called the Well of Heavenly Clarity.

Mongoose and Turtle: The symbol of friendship. During the monsoon season, the mongoose would stand on top of the turtle while it swam. During the hot summer season, the mongoose would carry the turtle and fly in the sky.

Carp and the Dragon: According to Dương, long ago carps dreamt of becoming dragons. They had to go through a series of tests. In the end they had to battle a dragon. If the carp won, it would turn into a dragon. This is supposed to symbolize how an ordinary person can become a scholar if they tried hard enough. There is a sculpture(?) in one of the buildings depicting the carp and dragon fighting. Sadly my camera didn't do a good job of taking a photo of it...

Scholars: The final test to becoming a scholar was given by the King. The King gave the student a problem that the kingdom was having and asked the him how he would fix it. If the student's answer was a success, he would become a scholar and be part of the King's advisers. 1 scholar didn't want to become an adviser, instead he went back to his home town and built a school where he taught. His students would become some of the best and most famous scholars in Vietnam. This photo is that scholar who went back and built a school.

Roof: Some people threw money onto the rooftop of the buildings for luck. If your money didn't fall off, you would have good fortune.

Dragon incense holder: There were a lot of these incense holders around the temple. I thought they were pretty cool. 1 holder held the 4 animals: dragon, carp, elephant and phoenix. I forgot what each one stands for...