Ho Pha Keo Temple is located in Laos, in Vientiane. The temple was built in 1565 - 1566 by order of the ruler of Vientiane, King Settatirat. Unlike other temples in Laos, Buddhist monks never lived in Ho Pha Keo, it was erected as a repository for the statue of the Emerald Buddha brought by Settatirat from the Thai city of Chiang Mai. A priceless Buddhist relic - a statue of the Emerald Buddha, made of jade and decorated with gold, has been stored in the temple of Ho Pha Keo for two centuries. In 1778, Siamese troops led by King Rama I invaded Vientiane, the temple was destroyed, and the statue of the Emerald Buddha was moved to Bangkok, where it is located to this day. In 1816, the temple of Ho Pha Keo was restored by King Anouwong, but already in 1828, during the second invasion of the Siam army, it was again destroyed. The third time the temple was restored by the French colonial authorities, work was carried out from 1936 to 1942 under the leadership of the future Prime Minister of Laos, Prince Suvanne Fuma. The restoration of the temple was carried out according to the drawings of the French explorer and artist Louis Delaport, who visited the destroyed Vientiane in 1867. The surviving architectural details of the building were used in its restoration, however, the new temple is significantly different from its predecessor, it was built in the so-called Bangkok-Rococo style. Walls, ceilings, doors and columns are decorated with wooden carved panels and decorative ornaments, stone tablets, sculptures and bronze Buddha statues are installed at the entrance. In 1970, the temple was transformed into a museum, it houses the gilded throne of the Emerald Buddha, Khmer stone steles, carved wooden panels, ancient manuscripts written on palm leaves, and other Buddhist relics. The Temple of Ho Pha Keo is surrounded by a large landscaped garden with manicured lawns, flower gardens and sculptures.