A woman was standing in front of the gate of Thien Hau Temple with a birdcage in her hand

Woman with bird cage — Thien Hau Temple in Cholon

The Cholon area where Thien Hau Temple is located is the largest Chinatown in Vietnam. In the past, as many as 700,000 overseas Chinese lived here. After the Vietnam War, with the socialization of Ho Chi Minh City and the Sino-Vietnamese conflict, the number of overseas Chinese declined to about 100,000 for a time, but recently the population of overseas Chinese seems to have recovered to about 500,000 again.

The oldest Chinese temple in Chinatown is the Thien Hau Temple in the photo, built in 1760, which must be a Taoist temple since it enshrines Mazu. A woman stands in front of the gate holding a cage. Inside the cage was small birds. They are small birds for release. In Buddhist countries in Southeast Asia, it is believed that releasing birds can accumulate virtue. This woman was also in the business of receiving money from people, opening the lid of the cage, and intentionally releasing the bird inside.

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