As the capital of Vietnam for almost a thousand years, Hanoi is considered to be one of cultural centers of Vietnam,
where most of Vietnamese dynasties had left behind their imprint. Even though
some relics have not survived through wars and time, the city still has many
interesting cultural and historic monuments for visitors and residents alike. Even
when the nation's capital moved to Hue under the
Nguyen dynasty in 1802, the city of Hanoi
continued to flourish, especially after the French took control in 1888 and
modeled the city's architecture to their tastes, lending an important aesthetic
to the city's rich stylistic heritage. The city boasts more than 1,000 years of
history, and that of the past few hundred years has been well preserved.
Hanoi hosts more cultural sites than any city in Vietnam,
including over 600 pagodas and temples.
The Old Quarter, near Hoan Kiem lake, has the original street
layout and architecture of old Hanoi.
At the beginning of the 20th century the city consisted of only about 36
streets, most of which are now part of the old quarter. Each street then had
merchants and households specialized in a particular trade, such as silk
traders, jewelery, etc. The street names nowadays still reflect these
specializations, although few of them remain exclusively in their original
commerce. The area is famous for its small artisans and merchants, including
many silk shops. Local cuisine specialties as well as several clubs and bars
can be found here also. A night market (near Dong Xuan market) in the heart of
the district opens for business every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening with
a variety of clothing, souvenirs and food.
Some others prominent
places are: The Temple of Literature
(Van Mieu), site of the oldest university in Vietnam 1070; One Pillar Pagoda (Chua Mot Cot); Flag Tower of Hanoi (Cot co Hanoi). In 2004, a massive part of the 900 year old citadel was discovered in
central Hanoi,
near the site of Ba Dinh square.
A city between the
rivers, built from lowland, Hanoi
has many scenic lakes and sometime is called "city of lakes". Among
its lakes, the most famous are Hoan Kiem
Lake, West Lake, Halais Lake (Ho Thien Quang), and Bay Mau
Lake. West Lake (Ho Tay) is a popular place for
people to spend time. It is the largest lake in Hanoi and there are many temples in the area.
There are small boats for hire and a floating restaurant.
Under French rule, as
an administrative centre for the French colony of Indochina, the French
colonial architecture style became dominant, many examples remain today: the
tree-lined boulevards (e.g. Phan Dinh Phung street), The Grand Opera House, The
State Bank of Vietnam (formerly The Bank of Indochina), The Presidential Palace
(formerly Place of The Governor-General of French Indochina), the cathédrale
St-Joseph, and historic hotel Sofitel Metropole.
Hoan Kiem Lake:
The Huc bridge on festive season
According to the
legend, emperor Le Loi handed a magic sword called Heaven's Will which brought
him victory in his revolt against the Chinese Ming Dynasty back to the Golden
Turtle God (Kim Qui) in the lake and hence gave it its present name (the lake
was formerly known as "Luc Thuy" meaning "Green Water").
The Tortoise Tower (Thap Rùa) standing on a small
island near the center of lake is linked to the legend.
Near the northern
shore of the lake lies Jade Island on which the Ngoc
Son Temple
(Jade Mountain Temple)
stands. The temple was erected in the 18th century. It honors the 13-century
military leader Tran Hung Dao who distinguished himself in the fight against
the Yuan Dynasty, Van Xuong, a scholar, and Nguyen Van Sieu, a Confucian master
and famous writer in charge of repairs made to the temple in 1864. Jade Island
is connected to the shore by the wooden red-painted Huc
Bridge (The Huc, meaning Morning Sunlight Bridge).
VAN MIEU (The Temple of Literature)
Main entrance to Temple of Literature
According to the book
the Complete History of the Great Viet,
"In the autumn of the year Canh Tuat, the second year of Than Vu (1070),
in the 8th lunar month, during the reign of King Ly Thanh Tong, the Temple of Literature was built. The statues of
Confucius, his four best disciples: Yan Hui (Nhan Uyen), Zengzi (Tang Sam),
Zisi (Tu Tu), and Mencius (Manh Tu), as well as the Duke of Zhou (Chu Cong),
were carved and 72 other statues of Confucian scholars were painted. Ceremonies
were dedicated to them in each of the four seasons. The Crown Princess studied
here."
This ancient Confucian
sanctuary is now considered one of Hanoi's
finest historical sites. The temple is based on Confucius' birthplace at Qufu
in the Chinese province
of Shandong. It consists
of five courtyards lined out in order, entrance to the first, via the
impressive twin-tiered Văn Mieu gate, leads to three pathways that run the
length of the complex.
The centre path was
reserved for the king, the one to its left for administrative Mandarins and the
one to its right for military Mandarins. The first two courtyards are peaceful
havens of ancient trees and well-trimmed lawns where scholars could relax away
from the bustle of the city outside the thick stone walls.
Entrance to the third
courtyard is through the dominating Khue Van Cac (constellation of literature),
a large pavilion built in 1802. Central to this courtyard is the Thien Quang
Tinh ("Well Of Heavenly Clarity"), either side of which stand two
great halls which house the true treasures of the temple. These are 82 stones
steles. Another 34 are believed to have been lost over the years. They sit upon
stone turtles and are inscribed with the names and birth places of 1306 men who
were awarded doctorates from the triennial examinations held here at the Quoc Tu Giam ("Imperial
Academy") between
1484 and 1780, after which the capital was moved to Hue.
The fourth courtyard
is bordered on either side by great pavilions which once contained altars of 72
of Confucius' greatest students but now contain offices, a gift shop and a
small museum displaying ink wells, pens, books and personal artifacts belonging
to some of the students that studied here through the years. At the far end of
the courtyard is the altar with statues of Confucius and his four closest
disciples. The fifth courtyard contained the Quoc Tu Giam, Vietnam's first
university, founded in 1076 by King Ly Can Duc, but this was destroyed by
French bombing in 1947.
The complex has
undergone much restoration work, most recently in 1920 and again in 1954, but
remains one of the few remaining examples of later Lý Dynasty (1009-1225)
architecture.
HO CHI MINH Mausoleum
Front view of Hochiminh Mausoleum
Construction work
began on September 2, 1973 and the structure was formally inaugurated on August
29, 1975. The mausoleum was inspired by Lenin's Mausoleum in Moscow but incorporates distinct Vietnamese
architectural elements, such as the sloping roof. The exterior is made of gray
granite, while the interior is gray, black, and red polished stone. The
mausoleum's portico has the words "Chu tich Ho Chi Minh" inscribed
across it, meaning "President Ho Chi Minh".
In his will, Ho Chi
Minh stated his wish to be cremated and to have his ashes scattered in the
hills of north, central, and southern Vietnam. He said that he preferred
cremation because it would be "more hygienic than burial and would also
save land for agricultural purposes". The mausoleum was built in spite of
his wishes.
The structure is 21.6
metres high and 41.2 metres wide. Flanking the mausoleum are two platforms with
seven steps for parade viewing. The plaza in front of the mausoleum is divided
into 240 green squares separated by pathways. The gardens surrounding the
mausoleum have nearly 250 different species of plants and flowers, all from
different regions of Vietnam.
Ho Chi Minh's body is
preserved in the cooled, central hall of the mausoleum, with a military honor
guard. The body lies in a glass case with dim lights. The mausoleum is closed
occasionally for restoration and preservation work on the body but is normally
open daily from 9:00 am to noon to the public. Lines of visitors, including
visiting foreign dignitaries, pay their respects at the mausoleum.
Rules regarding dress
and behavior are strictly enforced by staff and guards. Legs must be covered
(no shorts or miniskirts). Visitors must be silent, and walk in two lines.
Smoking, photography, and video taping are also not permitted anywhere inside
the mausoleum.
Flag Tower of Hanoi
The Flag Tower of
Hanoi (Vietnamese: Cột cờ Hà Nội) is a tower in Hanoi, Vietnam,
which is one of the symbols of the city. Its height is 33.4 m (41 m with the
flag). Built in 1812, the tower, unlike many other structures in Hanoi, was not destroyed
during the French administration (1896-1897), being used as a military post.
Cột cờ is composed of
three tiers and a pyramid-shaped tower with a spiral staircaise leading to the
top inside it. The first tier is 42.5 m wide and 3.1 m high; the second - 25 m
wide and 3.7 m high and the third - 12.8 m wide and 5.1 m high. The second tier
has four doors. The words "Nghênh Húc" (English: "To welcome
dawn's sunlight") are inscribed on the eastern door; the words "Hà
Quang" ("To reflect light") - on the western door and
"Hướng Minh" ("Directed to the sunlight") - on the southern
door. The tower is lightened by 36 flower-shaped and 6 fan-shaped windows. The
National Flag of Vietnam is on top of the tower.
One Pillar Pagoda
The One Pillar Pagoda
is a historic Buddhist temple in Hanoi, the
capital of Vietnam.
The temple was built by Emperor Lý Thái Tông, who ruled from 1028 to 1054.
According to the court records, Lý Thái Tông was childless and dreamt that he
met the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, who handed him a baby son while seated on
a lotus flower. Lý Thái Tông then married a peasant girl that he had met and
she bore him a son. The emperor constructed the temple in gratitude for this in
1049, having been told by a monk named Thiền Tuệ to build the temple, by
erecting a pillar in the middle of a lotus pond, similar to the one he saw in
the dream.
The temple is built of
wood on a single stone pillar 1.25 m in diameter, and it is designed to
resemble a lotus blossom, which is a Buddhist symbol of purity, since a lotus
blossoms in a muddy pond. In 1954, the French Union forces destroyed the pagoda
before withdrawing from Vietnam
after the First Indochina War. It was rebuilt afterwards.
The National
Museum of Vietnamese
History
The National Museum of
Vietnamese History (Vietnamese: Viện Bảo tàng Lịch sử Việt Nam) is located in the Hoan Kiem district of Hanoi, Vietnam.
The building used to be the museum of the Far East Research Institute under
French colonial rule (École française d'Extrême-Orient EFEO).
Today, it is a museum
showcasing Vietnam's
history with very large displays covering every period. It is housed in a
colonial French building which was completed in 1932. The building, designed by
the architect Ernest Hébrard, is considered a successful blend of French
colonial and traditional Vietnamese architecture, called Indochina
architecture. Hebrard created double walls and balconies for a natural
ventilation system and protection from sunshine.
Vietnam Museum of Ethnology
The Vietnam Museum of
Ethnology is a museum in Hanoi, Vietnam, which focuses on the 54 officially
recognized ethnic groups in Vietnam.
It is located on a 3.27 acre property in the Cầu Giấy District, about 8 km from
the city center.
It is widely
considered to be the finest modern museum in Vietnam
and a tourist attraction in Hanoi
The proposal for the
museum was officially approved on December 14, 1987. Construction lasted from
1987 to 1995, and it was opened to the public on November 12, 1997.
The exhibition
building was designed by the architect Hà Đức Lịnh, a member of the Tày ethnic
group, in the shape of a Dong Son drum, and the interior architecture was
designed by the French architect Véronique Dollfus.
Opening hours is
8:30am to 5:30pm Tuesday to Sunday