The Four Symbols or Four Saint Beasts are the four beasts protecting the four directions of Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

. They include: Long

Chinese dragon

Chinese dragons are legendary creatures in Chinese mythology and folklore, with mythic counterparts among Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Bhutanese, Western and Turkic dragons. In Chinese art, dragons are typically portrayed as long, scaled, serpentine creatures with four legs...

(East), Lân

Qilin

The Qilin is a mythical hooved Chinese chimerical creature known throughout various East Asian cultures, and is said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a wise sage or an illustrious ruler. It is a good omen that brings rui . It is often depicted with what looks like fire all over...

(West), Quy

Tortoise

Tortoises are a family of land-dwelling reptiles of the order of turtles . Like their marine cousins, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace, the underside is the plastron, and the two are connected by the bridge. The tortoise...

(North) and Phụng

Fenghuang

Fenghuang are mythological birds of East Asia that reign over all other birds. The males are called Feng and the females Huang. In modern times, however, such a distinction of gender is often no longer made and the Feng and Huang are blurred into a single feminine entity so that the bird can be...

(South). These beasts are based on the Four Symbols

Four Symbols (Chinese constellation)

The Four Symbols are four mythological creatures in the Chinese constellations. They are:*Azure Dragon of the East *Vermilion Bird of the South *White Tiger of the West *Black Tortoise of the North...

 of Chinese Mythology

Chinese mythology

Chinese mythology is a collection of cultural history, folktales, and religions that have been passed down in oral or written tradition. These include creation myths and legends and myths concerning the founding of Chinese culture and the Chinese state...

 (Qing Long, Bai Hu, Xuan Wu and Zhu Que).

Appearance

• The Long creature is named after the Sino-Vietnamese
  Sino-Vietnamese
  Sino-Vietnamese are the elements in the Vietnamese language derived from Chinese. They account for between 30% to 60% of the Vietnamese vocabulary, not including naturalized word borrowings from China...
  
   character Long, which is spelled after the Hanzi "", means "dragon" in China
  Chinese dragon
  Chinese dragons are legendary creatures in Chinese mythology and folklore, with mythic counterparts among Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Bhutanese, Western and Turkic dragons. In Chinese art, dragons are typically portrayed as long, scaled, serpentine creatures with four legs...
  
  .
• The Lân creature is named after the Sino-Vietnamese
  Sino-Vietnamese
  Sino-Vietnamese are the elements in the Vietnamese language derived from Chinese. They account for between 30% to 60% of the Vietnamese vocabulary, not including naturalized word borrowings from China...
  
   character Lân/Kỳ Lân, which is spelled after the Hanzi "", means "Qilin" in China
  Qilin
  The Qilin is a mythical hooved Chinese chimerical creature known throughout various East Asian cultures, and is said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a wise sage or an illustrious ruler. It is a good omen that brings rui . It is often depicted with what looks like fire all over...
  
  .
• The Quy (Qui) creature is named after the Sino-Vietnamese
  Sino-Vietnamese
  Sino-Vietnamese are the elements in the Vietnamese language derived from Chinese. They account for between 30% to 60% of the Vietnamese vocabulary, not including naturalized word borrowings from China...
  
   character Quy (Qui), which is spelled after the Hanzi "", means "tortoise" (one of the two creatures imaging Xuan Wu) in China
  Tortoise
  Tortoises are a family of land-dwelling reptiles of the order of turtles . Like their marine cousins, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace, the underside is the plastron, and the two are connected by the bridge. The tortoise...
  
  .
• The Phượng (Phụng) creature is named after the Sino-Vietnamese
  Sino-Vietnamese
  Sino-Vietnamese are the elements in the Vietnamese language derived from Chinese. They account for between 30% to 60% of the Vietnamese vocabulary, not including naturalized word borrowings from China...
  
   character Phượng (Phụng)/Phượng (Phụng) Hoàng, which is spelled after the Hanzi "", means "the bird king" in China
  Fenghuang
  Fenghuang are mythological birds of East Asia that reign over all other birds. The males are called Feng and the females Huang. In modern times, however, such a distinction of gender is often no longer made and the Feng and Huang are blurred into a single feminine entity so that the bird can be...
  
  .

Popular culture

In the Suối Tiên Park in Hochiminh City, there are four entertaining areas named after the Four Saint Beasts, they are Thuỷ Long Palace, Kỳ Lân Palace, Kim Quy Lake and Phượng Hoàng Palace.