(Ba Dinh Square ) is a complex of several beautiful cultural and historic tourist sites, situated in the center of Hanoi. Ba Dinh Hall is a meeting place for the great important events of Vietnam. The Presidential Palace is an administrative office of the Government
( Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum ): is a large memorial to the Vietnamese leader. It is located in Ba Ðình Square in Hà Nội. Ho Chi Minh's body is preserved here and the mausoleum is open for people to come and pay their respects. The mausoleum's design is similar to the Lenin's mausoleum in Moscow. Today rows of visitors could be seen visiting the place everyday.
In his will, he stated his wish to be cremated and to have his ashes buried in the hills of the north, center, and south of Việt Nam. He said that he liked cremation because it was "more hygienic than burial and could also save land for agricultural purpose". By building this mausoleum, the successor Communist government unintentionally violated this wish.
( Ngoc Son temple ): was built on a small island during the 19th century. Saint Van Xuong, considered one of the brightest stars of Vietnam's literature and intellectual circles, was worshipped here. National hero Tran Hung Dao was also worshipped after he lad the Vietnamese people to victory over both Mongolian and Chinese invaders. The temple as it is seen today is the result of renovations made by Nguyen Van Sieu in 1864.
( Hoan Kiem lake ):or the Lake of the Restored Sword is located directly in the centre of Hanoi. The name is derived from a legend involving Emperor Le Thai To, in which he came across a giant tortoise while cruising on the lake. The tortoise took his sword that had secured victory against the Chinese aggressors of the Minh Dynasty. The emperor named the lake after this episode.
( The Temple of Literature ):,dedicated to Confucius, was founded in 1070 by Emperor Ly Thanh Tong. In 1076, Vietnam's first university was established here to educate Vietnam's administrative and warriors class. Parts of the university date from this earlier time period although the large complex has undergone many changes over the centuries. But recent archaeological study indicates that the architecture of this site belongs primarily to the Ly (1010-1225) and Tran (1225-1400) Dynasties. The complex is in a tranquil park-like site in the heart of central Hanoi. The progression is essentially axial from the entrance gate to the central temple sanctuary
(History Museum) Vietnam History Museum was founded in September 1958 and it contains a great deal of valuable objects, which reflect all the periods of Vietnamese history.
(One Pillar Pagoda)stands in the park behind the Ho Chi Minh museum. It rises on a one pillar (concrete in its rebuilt form) from the middle of a square lotus pond. The small square structure has a tile roof that curves up elegantly. Legend has it that Ly Thai Tong had a dream vision of Quan Am sitting on a lotus flower and promising him a male child. Thus, he had this pagoda built, itself sitting on a pond like a giant flower on its tall stem.
( Museum of Ethnology ): Vietnam Museum of Ethnology is both a research centre and a public museum exhibiting the ethnic groups of Vietnam. The mission of the Museum is scientific research, collection, documentation, conservation, exhibition and preserving the cultural and historic patrimony of the nation’s different ethnic groups. The museum also serves to guide research, conservation, and technology that are specific to the work of an ethnographic museum.
On November 12, 1997, the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology inaugurated its permanent exhibition and officially opened to the public.The Museum is located in a large open area on Nguyen Van Huyen Street, Cau Giay District, about 8 km from the city centre. This area used to be paddy field of the local people. During the construction of the Museum, all of the infrastructure was built, including the 700m road from Hoang Quoc Viet Street to the entrance of the Museum. (In the near future, this road will reach the Daewoo Hotel, which is situated between Cau Giay and Lieu Giai Streets)
( Ha Noi ancient town): The history of Hanoi's Old Quarter spans 2000 years. It lies between the Returned Sword Lake to the South and the Long Bien Bridge to the North. The former city rampart, now called Tran Nhat Duat Street, marks its East border and the citadel wall on Ly Nam De Street its West. Present-day Hanoi ('Inside the Riverbend') was once a turtle and alligator-infested swamp, then a cluster of villages made up of houses on stilts. The villages were unified by Chinese administrators who built ramparts around their headquarters and called the area "Dominated Annam." In the late tenth century the Vietnamese attained independence from the Chinese. King Ly Thai To made the city his capital in 1010 and gave it the name Thang Long ('Soaring Dragon'
( Hanoi ): In the fall of 1010, King Ly Thai To (Ly Cong Uan) moved the capital from Hoa Lu to Dai La. On the way, the king saw a vision of a golden dragon ascending from the Red river ( song Hong). The King decided to change Dai La to Thang Long (Ascending Dragon). Thang Long remained the capital city until the end of the Tran dynasty when in 1397, the capital city was moved to Thanh Hoa -Tay Do (Western Capital) and Thang Long became Dong Do (Eastern Capital).
Vietnam was invaded by China in 1407, and the city was renamed Dong Quan. In 1428, after ten years of fighting, Le Loi liberated Vietnam and renamed the city Dong Kinh. In 1527, the city was renamed Thang Long. In 1802 when King Gia Long (Nguyen Dynasty) moved the capital city to Hue, the name Thang Long remained but, Long no longer means dragon, Long in this case means prosperity. Ha Noi, was the name given to the city by King Minh Mang in 1831. Ha meansRiver and Noi means within - Ha Noi means within the river.
HA NOI
