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Hanoi is the
capital of Vietnam, the political, economic,
cultural, commercial, and tourist center of the
country. To visit Hanoi is to step yourself in
history, tradition, and legend in a capital that
has been inhabited for almost a millennium.
Hanoi is an ancient capital, established in 1010
during the Ly dynasty. The flow of time brought
this capital various different names: Thanglong,
Dongdo, Hanoi. Nowadays Hanoi still preserves
plenty of ancient architectural works comprising
the old streets and over 600 pagodas and temples
(such as the Temple of Literature, Ngocson
temple, Hai Ba Trung temple, One pillar pagoda,
Tranquoc pagoda ..) lying nestled in rows of
trees. Hanoi’s present architecture is mainly
from the 19th and 20th centuries, and the
stately French built section of town is largely
intact.
Beside the ancient
architectural works there are also many new ones
(such as Mausoleum of President Ho Chi Minh, the
Cultural palace ..). The system of museums and
theatres is extremely rich and varied.
Hanoi possesses
tens of hectares of lakes lying intertwined with
its streets, the largest ones among them are
Hoankiem lake, West lake and Trucbach lake, all
of them lined with roads under verdant tree
foliage. All these mingle together and render
Hanoi a purely poetical beauty which immensely
satisfies the taste of tourists.
Hanoi is also a
city of many traditional handicrafts : bronze
mounding, silver carving, lacquer, embroidery...
Many consumer goods, handiwork and table
delicacies are highly appreciated by visitors
from everywhere in the world.
Hanoi gastronomy
appears very excellent and special. Just try the
speciality of "Cha Ca" to have an unforgettable
meal. Hanoi proves to be a vivid city full of
colours and many things to discover!
Sight-seeing Spots
THE HOAN
KIEM LAKE & THE NGOC SON TEMPLE
They
are located in the heart of the city. Legends
said that on the occasion of King Le Loi's
relaxation trip by sampan on the lake after the
victory over the Ming aggressors, a Golden
Tortoise emerged to request him to return the
holy sword given to him by the Sky God to
protect the country against the enemy. This
small lake is nicely bordered by age - old
trees. In the extreme north is an islet
accessible by a wooden bridge painted red namely
The Huc. The small temple of Ngoc Son of 19th
century is dedicated to General Tran Hung Dao, a
hero against the Mongolians in the 13th century
together with three genie: La To, the pioneer of
medical career; Nguyen Van Xuong, the genie of
literature; Tran Vu, the genie of martial arts.
In the middle of the lake is the tortoise tower
considered as the contemporary symbol of Hanoi.
THE TEMPLE OF
LITERATURE
Built in 1070, consecrated to Confucius and used
as a school for princes, the temple of
literature was considered as the first
university of Vietnam in 1076. It is about 350m
long and 70 m wide and surrounded by a vast wall
of bricks. There are 5 yards inside. The middle
entrance is for the king; one side entrance is
for the civilian mandarins and the other for
military ones. Behind the big door is the
pavilion for poetic entertainment dated 1802.
All the most educated people recited and
composed poems and made literary comments. In
front of the rectangular yard lined with 82
stone stelae carved with the names of the
doctors of philosophy who passed the king's
examination from 1498 to 1787.
THE TEMPLE
OF QUAN THANH
It is located on the side of Truc Bach lake. In
the 11th century Ly Thai To had it built and
consecrated to Tran Vo, the genie of the North
who freed the lake, according to the legend,
from the terribly harmful wolf of nine tails.
Tran Vo bore a Black flag and his symbols are
the tortoise and snake. In the 18th century, the
temple was renovated and the statue of Tran Vo
was cast in bronze. This statue is 3.4m tall and
4 tons heavy, and placed inside the temple.
THE ONE
PILLAR PAGODA
This is a nice square and wooden pagoda leaned
on one pillar in the middle of a green lotus
pond. It was constructed in 1049 and called Dien
Huu. Legends said that King Ly Thai To did not
have any sons. One night the Goddess of Mercy in
his dream sitting on a lotus gave him a son.
Later he married a young country girl and had a
successor. The king thanked the Goddess of Mercy
by building this pagoda in the form of a lotus.
THE
MILITARY MUSEUM
This
establishment was built at the end of the 20th
century. During the colonial time it used to be
the base for the French army. Nowadays it has
been transformed into the museum of all displays
of the Vietnamese resistant wars against the
foreign invaders with many photos of war
vestiges and trophies. All the displays and
exhibits are surprising particularly the
audiovisuals means to illustrate the battle of
Dien Bien Phu and the liberation of Sai Gon.
THE
HISTORICAL MUSEUM
Formerly it was in the area of the French Far
East school. It consists of a rich collection of
pre-historical objects and periods of building
the country. Visitors will discover the
Vietnamese history from the beginning of the
country until now.
PRESIDENT
HO CHI MINH'S MAUSOLEUM
The mausoleum that was inaugurated in 1975 is
the permanent memorial for Respected Uncle Ho,
the founder of the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam. It is 21 m high and in Vietnamese grey
marble and granite. Like a lotus flower it was
erected right at the historical place of Ba Dinh
where President Ho Chi Minh declared the
independence for Vietnam in 1945. The mausoleum
is now a place of big interest that cannot be
missed. The Vietnamese always line up to visit
him to show all good sentiments and respects to
beloved Uncle Ho.
THE OLD
QUARTER AND THE DONG XUAN MARKET
It
takes about 5 minutes to walk from the old
quarter of Hanoi to the North West of the Sword
Lake. It looks like a tree leaf of which the
main vein becomes the Silk road leading to the
Dong Xuan market. It still preserves the Hanoian
images that inspire the unique sensation of the
past of Hanoi. Numerous small streets bear the
names of different corporations of workers: The
street of Cotton (Hang Bong), The street of
sugar (Hang Duong), the street of rice (Hang
Gao), the street of charcoal (Hang Than), street
of floor mats (Hang Chieu), street of
goldsmiths, street of fried fish. Dong Xuan
located within the old quarter is the main and
vivid market of Hanoi.
THE CO LOA
CITADEL
It is
18 km far from Hanoi, within the district of
Dong Anh. It used to be the ancient capital of
Au Lac Kingdom reigned by King An Duong Vuong
from 214 to 208 B.C. The citadel of Co Loa has
the structure of an oyster shell. Legends said
that at nighttime the white cocks badly damaged
the construction. A holy tortoise was sent by
the God of the river who interfered mysteriously
for the complete building of the citadel then a
magic bow was given to An Duong Vuong for
defeating the Chinese invaders. Trong Thuy, the
son of Chinese king, Trieu Da, married My Chau,
the daughter of King Thuc and made use of the
opportunity to steal this magic weapon. Then the
war happened and the Vietnamese king committed
suicide. People constructed a temple dedicated
to King Thuc, princess My Chau and a well where
Trong Thuy was so sorrowful that he committed
suicide.
THE PAGODA
OF THAY
 This
monastery in Ha Tay province dated back the 12th
century is about 40 km far from Hanoi. This
pagoda is for 3 main people: Sakyamuni, the
founder of Buddhism surrounded with 18 arhats;
The monk Tu Dao Hanh (The ancestor teacher of
water puppetry); King Ly Thanh Tong reincarnated
from the teacher. It is interesting to ascend
the hill of Lai Son of great magnificent
panorama.
THE PAGODA
OF TAY PHUONG
This
well-known pagoda, also called Sung Phuc was
constructed in the 13th century on a buffalo
shaped hill. There are 262 brick steps up. It
comprises of 3 parallel buildings with splendid
roofs. 76 statues of jack wood mark the great
artistic value of the 18 century.
THE HUONG
PAGODA
A
complex of pagodas on the limestone mountains. A
boat ride on the Yen stream through rice fields
up to the mountain is unforgettable. Most
temples were built amidst a chain of Blue
Mountains, forests, lakes and grottoes. Pilgrims
from different parts of the country pour into
the Huong pagoda in Spring time. The highest
located and also the main pagoda is situated on
the top of the mountain. Thousands of stone
steps easily challenge tourists' adventurous
desires. Even the elderly women devoutly are
wearing long kerchiefs while murmuring their
prayers between their lips in the belief that it
would lessen the arduousness of the climb. On
the Huong Tich grotto, Trinh Lord 's praises
were carved: "First-rate grotto of southern
country"
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