Preserved: Doi (Bat) Pagoda, built in the 16th century, is one of the oldest pagodas in Soc Trang Province. — VNS Photo Le Hoang Vu

SOC TRANG (VNS)— The Doi (Bat) Pagoda, built in the southern province of Soc Trang in the 16th century, will be placed under protective status by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to safeguard it from vandals and potential damage from nearby hotel and restaurant projects.

Deputy Minister Dang Thi Bich Lien said the pagoda was named a national historical and cultural heritage in 1999.

She has asked local authorities in Soc Trang to complete documents necessary to place the site under a new historical-relic category under the Heritage Law, which was amended in 2009.

A new project of several hotels and restaurants near the pagoda is expected to increase tourism, according to Truong Binh Bao, an official of the province's People's Committee.

Lien said her staff of inspectors toured the site to guarantee that local heritage, especially Doi Pagoda, would remain unaffected by the tourism projects.

Located on Hong Phong Street, 2km from downtown Soc Trang, the pagoda is very well-known pagoda in the coastal Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, home to many people of Khmer origin.

One of the oldest pagodas in the area, it covers 116,000sq.m and is famous for its beautiful architecture, especially its large roof often occupied by thousands of bats.

The bats can also be seen roosting in the high branches of tall trees in the pagoda's courtyard.

Traditional Khmer symbols are skillfully carved on the pagoda's pillars and roof. There are splendid reliefs and statues in the pagoda as well.

The pagoda is viewed by experts as a valuable natural resource for scientific, historical and cultural research. — VNS