The pagoda complex has an area of about 5,100 hectares, with nearly 1,000 hectares of lakes and 3,000 hectares of mountains and natural forests. It nestles in the heart of valleys, mountain ranges and the Tam Chuc lake.

The complex in Ha Nam Province, 65km southwest of Hanoi, is where the Great Buddha's Birthday celebration, Vesak 2019, will take place from May 12 to 14.

Tam Chuc occupies 144 hectares of land. It was first built during the reign of the Dinh Dynasty (968-980) but work is in progress on a brand new complex.

It has an international conference hall that floats on the Tam Chuc lake.

Each of the three bronze statues of the Buddha inlaid with black copper weighing 200 tons, are placed in the heart of Tam The Pagoda. Designed with 3-storey curved roof, the pagoda is large enough to host 5,000 Buddhist followers during Vesak.

An artisan re-touches a relief sculpture at the Tam The Pagoda.

More than 2,000 people are working every day on the complex to prepare for celebrating the Buddha's birthday. "The work has reached 95 percent," said Venerable Thich Thanh Nhieu, Standing Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha's executive council and Vice Chairman of the National Committee of Vesak 2019.

Two men work on the stairs that lead to a pagoda in the complex.

A group of workers check the roof of a pagoda in the complex.

The floors are being cleaned and polished.

Seven large lotus "stations" will be released on the lake in front of the complex’s three-door gate, as part of a ceremony to pray for peace.

The parallel roads that run to the Tam Chuc Pagoda complex. It is expected that around 1,500 delegates from more than 100 countries and territories around the world will attend the ceremony, joining around 10,000 Vietnamese Buddhists.