HANOI

Hanoi, the cultural and political capital of Vietnam. is a captivating city with a rich and proud history of 1000 years.  Hanoi was first chosen as the capital of Vietnam in 1010 by King Ly Thai To and its ancient names were Thang Long, "the ascending dragon". Famous tourist sites in Hanoi include The Sword Lake, The Old Quarter, Temple of Literature, One Pillar Pagoda, Hanoi Citadel, Hanoi Opera House, Hoan Kiem Lake, Quan Thanh Temple... Hanoi is a vivid and colorful city with so many undiscovered things! For more information, please click here.

The Hoan Kiem (Sword) Lake is the heart of the city. Legends said that when King Le Loi boated on the lake after the victory over the Ming invaders, 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 and the Pen Tower is situated to the north. In the north is an islet accessible by the The Huc, a wooden bridge painted red. The Ngoc Son Temple of 19th century is dedicated to General Tran Hung Dao, a hero against the Mongolians in the 13th century together with three genii, La To - the genie of medicine, Nguyen Van Xuong - the genie of literature and 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 Old Quarter of Hanoi is about 5 minutes walking from 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.

Considered as the first university in Vietnam, the Temple of Literature was built in 1070, consecrated to Confucius and used as a school for princes. It is about 350m long and 70 m wide and surrounded by a vast wall of bricks with 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 steal carved with the names of the doctors of philosophy who passed the king's examination from 1498 to 1787.

The One Pillar Pagoda is a nice square and wooden pagoda leaned on one pillar in the middle of a green lotus pond. It was constructed in 1049. 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 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 Sai Gon. The Historical Museum was formerly 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.

The Co Loa Citadel 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 Thay Pagoda of the 12th century in Ha Tay 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) and King Ly Thanh Tong. It is interesting to ascend the hill of Lai Son of great magnificent panorama. The Tay Phuong 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.