Hanoi: A City of Thousand-Year Culture

Hanoi, one of the ancient capital cities in the Southeast Asia, is the only one city in the region that boasts a time-honored and continual history of thousands of year.

Than Long - Hanoi's history is linked to the valiant history of the nation. This characteristic has created the deepest and most splendid beauty of the beloved capital city. Hanoians are creative, industrial hospitable and polish. This nature beams all the more radiantly amidst spacious nature with the land position of rolling dragon and sitting tiger, the immense, silty Red River, nice trishaws and ancient, curved roofed pagodas amid busy streets.

It has been written in history, in prose as well as in poetry, the magnificent temples and royal palaces built in the past. Ashes mixed in archeological vestiges were evidence of the invasion launched by the most atrocious empires that burnt down these royal palaces.

The greatness of the capital city lies not only in the deep cultural significance of existing work like the one-pillared pagoda and the temples of literature with their humanism and harmonious beauty, perfect in all aspects and philosophical beauty. This still finds its expression in work that have once existed, that been devastated on whose foundations have been uncovered in an excavation made by the Vietnam Academy of Social Science's Archaeology in 2003.

This archaeological excavation on a largest-ever scale in Southeast Asia has been unearthed a complex, rich and diversified system of vestiges and relics which enables us to imagine the monumental scope and specific face of the capital city more than thousand years ago from whence a continual history through many dynasties of Thang Long-Hanoi may be set up again. These archaeological ruins comprises of foundations, column bases, spaces with hundreds of meters in length and width, drainage system, wells, old streams, octagonal pavilions, etc. It is clear that the foundations are not of grandiose royal palace but a complex of archaeological structures of the ancient imperial citadel.

Sword Lake
Sword Lake is to Hanoi what Central Park is to New York City. It is a place for people to meet and what makes the city such a joy to live in. The name of the lake means Lake of the Restored Sword and comes from the legend about such a magical instrument given the a Vietnam's Emperor.    

Hanoi - The old quarter
What a wonderful place to wander, get lost and absorb the experience! This area, traditionally 36 streets named after each of the crafts practised there, is full of people,traffic, colour, noise, shops and people going about their everyday lives. The streets and buildings are narrow, adding to the charm and chaos.

One Pillar Pagoda
One Pillar Pagoda is a cultural and historic relic, built 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.

Thang Long Water Puppet Show
Thang Long Water Puppet show was excellent. Eventhough you may not understand any Vietnamese language, you will still be able to see those puppets in action. There are 17 series of scenes telling some stories about Vietnamese life represented by carved and painted wooden puppets held on sticks by people standing in a pool of water hidden behind the screen.

Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam
Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam is a famous historical and cultural relic consisting the Temple of Literature and the first university of Vietnam dating back to the Eleventh Century and was where mandarins were trained in the Confucian manner. It has several courtyards, one of which contains a number of stone tortoises bearing stelae inscribed with the names of graduates. The inner most courtyard contains the temple dedicated to Confucius.