HOAN KIEM LAKE

Ho Hoan Kiem

Hanoi is a city of lakes, brought about over the centuries by the Red River’s myriad floods, expansions, and diversions. The lakes invested the crowded neighborhoods with light and air and a sense of space that made quite livable what would otherwise be a fairly claustrophobic urban environment. I’d never seen a lake in Hanoi that wasn’t necklaced by benches and circled by people out enjoying the view. People fished in them, swam in them, and waded out into them to harvest wild rau muong, a waterborne vegetable that could add a few extra vitamins to a bowl of rice.

Hoan Kiem Lake

Hoan Kiem Lake wasn’t Hanoi’s biggest, or it’s deepest. It wasn’t even the cleanest. But it represented the spiritual heart of the city. It was possible to stroll its circumference in less than thirty minutes, but the role it played in Hanoians’ sense of their city — both historically and in the present day — was enormous. The lake drew people toward it as a body draws breath. I had seen the crowds at the lake on Liberation Day, thousands of revelers on their bicycles and motorbikes, moving slowly, packed tight, and endlessly circling the lake. During the wedding season, I’d seen professional photographers snap shots of brides and grooms on the green lawns beside the water. Traditionally, at midnight on the first night of the Tet New Year celebration, the most significant moment in Vietnam’s year, the smoke cloud of a million exploding firecrackers covered the lake like a blanket on a newborn. Hanoians didn’t even call Hoan Kiem Lake by its popular name, but used a shorthand term of endearment, bo ho, “the shore of the lake.” No one had to ask, which shore? Which lake? Bo ho wasn’t merely the heart of the city, but its lungs, and mind, and soul as well.

ONE PILLAR PAGODA

Amongst a number of beauty-spots in Hanoi, the One-Pillar Pagoda (one of Vietnam’s two most iconic pagodas, side by side the Perfume Pagoda) is a popular tourist attraction.

Chua Mot Cot Ha Noi

The One Pillar Pagoda (Vietnamese:Chùa Một Cột, formally Diên Hựu tự, which literally means “long lasting happiness and good luck”) is a historic Buddhist temple in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. As you visit Hanoi, you may come to various other monuments, parks and historical places. Yet, the One-Pillar Pagoda reflects the architectural splendour that the country has grown.

Where is it located? The unique pagoda is located in the western part of the city, near Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, Ong Ich Khiem St., Ngoc Ha, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi.

The Legendary story: According to legend, ageing Emperor Ly Thai To of the Ly dynasty, who had no children, used to go to pagodas to pray to Buddha for a son. One night, he dreamt that he was granted a private audience to the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, who was seated on a great lotus flower in a square-shaped lotus pond on the western side of Thang Long Citadel, gave the King a baby boy. Months later, when the Queen gave birth to a male child, the Emperor ordered the construction of a pagoda supported by only one pillar to resemble the lotus seat of his dream in the honour of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. According to a theory, the pagoda was built in a style of a lotus emerging out of the water.

One-Pillar Pagoda

Formation: Emperor Ly Thai Tong had this temple constructed in gratitude for the mentioned significant legendary event in 1049, by erecting a pillar in the middle of a lotus pond, and a temple of lotus-shape, exactly similar to what he saw in the dream. This unique shape of the pagoda together with the special story has been of great absorption to hundreds of thousands of international tourists!

This Pagoda was located in what was then the Tây Cấm Garden in Thạch Bảo, Vĩnh Thuận district in the capital Thăng Long (now known as Hanoi. It was 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. Before the pagoda was opened, prayers were held for the longevity of the monarch, hence being considered a temple at that time. During the Ly Dynasty era, the temple was the site of an annual royal ceremony on the occasion of Vesak, the birthday of Gautama Buddha. A Buddha-bathing ceremony was held annually by the monarch, and it attracted monks and laymen alike to the ceremony. The monarch would then free a bird, which was followed by the people.

As time went by, the pagoda succumbed too many ravages caused by the colonial powers. In 1954, the French Union forces destroyed the pagoda before withdrawing from Vietnam after the First Indochina War, and it was rebuilt afterwards.

HO CHI MINH MAUSOLEUM

HoChiMinh Mausoleum

The Hồ Chí Minh Mausoleum (Vietnamese: Lăng Chủ tịch Hồ Chí Minh) is a large memorial to the Vietnamese leader in Hanoi, Vietnam. It is located in the center of Ba Ðình Square, which is the place where Ho read the Declaration of Independence on September 2, 1945, establishing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

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 “Chủ tịch Hồ Chí 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.

Lang Bac - Phu Chu Tich

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.
OLD QUARTERS

Pho co Ha noi - Hanoi old streets

As the oldest continuously developed area of Vietnam, Hanoi’s Old Quarter has a history that spans 2,000 years and represents the eternal soul of the city. Located between the Lake of the Restored Sword, the Long Bien Bridge, a former city rampart, and a citadel wall, the Old Quarter started as a snake and alligator-infested swamp. It later evolved into a cluster of villages made up of houses on stilts, and was unified by Chinese administrators who built ramparts around their headquarters. The area was named “Dominated Annam” or “Protected South” by the Chinese.

The Old Quarter began to acquire its reputation as a crafts area when the Vietnamese attained independence in the 11th century and King Ly Thai To built his palace there. In the early 13th century, the collection of tiny workshop villages which clustered around the palace walls evolved into craft cooperatives, or guilds. Skilled craftsmen migrated to the Quarter, and artisan guilds were formed by craftsmen originating from the same village and performing similar services. Members of the guilds worked and lived together, creating a cooperative system for transporting merchandise to the designated streets in the business quarter.

Because inhabitants of each street came from the same village, streets developed a homogeneous look. Commoners’ homes evolved out of market stalls, before streets were formed. Because storekeepers were taxed according to the width of their storefront, storage and living space moved to the rear of the buildings. Consequently, the long and narrow buildings were called “tube houses.” Typical measurements for such houses are 3 meters wide by 60 meters long.

Hanoi 36 old quarters

The Old Quarter has a rich religious heritage. When the craftsmen moved from outlying villages into the capital, they brought with them their religious practices. They transferred their temples, pagodas and communal houses to their new location. Each guild has one or two religious structures and honors its own patron saint or founder. Therefore, on each street in the Old Quarter there is at least one temple. Now, many of the old temples in the Old Quarter have been transformed into shops and living quarters, but some of the old buildings’ religious roots can still be recognized by the architecture of their roofs.
WEST LAKE

Ho Tay - West Lake

Ho Tay is the largest of all the lakes in Ha Noi. The lake is on the northwest part of the city. Long ago, the lake was a branch of the Red river but later, as the river changed course, the lake remained a body of water just west of the river. There are many legends associated with West Lake. The most popular is the legend of the golden buffalo.

As the story goes, there once was a medicine man who was a giant. He is well known in Vietnam for his medicine practice and the king often used him to treat the royal family. His fame reached China and he was invited to China to treat the king. He was successful where others have failed so the king was going to reward him with great wealth. He refused offerings of gold and only requested that the king give him all the black copper in the king’s vault. The king agreed and the giant left for Vietnam with vast amounts of black copper. In Vietnam the giant molded a giant bell of black copper. The giant rang the bell and the sound resonated all the way to China. In the king’s vault there was a golden buffalo. Upon hearing the sound of the bell, the buffalo came to life (because he thought that his mother was calling him) and charged southward. Upon reaching Ha Noi, the buffalo trampled the land in the area near Red river. Over the years, this area filled with water and became Ho Tay or West Lake.
THE TEMPLE OF LITERATURE

Located in the Dong Da section of Hanoi, Van Mieu, or the Temple of Literature, is the oldest school in Vietnam, giving it the distinction of being the most significant temple in both Hanoi and Vietnam. It is representative of Confucian ways of thought and behavior, and is a historical and cultural relic.

Van Mieu

According to historical records, during the 8th lunar month of the Canh Tuat Year (1070), King Ly Thanh Tong erected several important monuments, including the Temple of Literature and the carvings of Confucius, Chu Cong, four disciples, and 72 other scholars who were considered to be model Confucians. Ceremonies were dedicated to them once every season of the year. The Crown Prince has traditionally been educated here. In 1076, Vietnam’s first university, Quoc Tu (National University), was established under the direction of King Ly Nhan Tong near Van Mieu for the purpose of instructing the children of Mandarins, the aristocrats, and the brightest commoners. During its more than 700 years of instruction (1076-1779), Quoc Tu Giam educated thousands of talented men for Vietnam. Among the most notable are the mathematician Luong The Vinh, the historian Ngo Sy Lien, the encyclopedist Ly Don, and the politician-diplomat Ngo Thi Nham.

After more than 900 years of existence, repairs and renovations, Quoc Tu Giam is still an example of well-preserved traditional Vietnamese architecture. Also preserved within these confines are valued relics representing the Millenary civilization, such as stele with inscriptions of the names of distinguished scholars, the Well of Heavenly Clarity (Thien Quang Tinh), the pavilion in dedication of the Constellation of Literature (Khue Van Cac), the statue of Confucius, the Great House of Ceremonies, the ancient wall, kowtow portico and the sanctuary, the stone dragons, and the ink stone stands. Secular trees, such as the banyan and frangipani, were present during literary meetings, festivals and examinations that occurred during the Ly, Tran and Le dynasties. They continue to flourish.

The Temple of Literature of Hanoi

Particularly impressive is the collection of 82 stone steles which rest upon large stone tortoises. They were created between 1484 and 1780 and are engraved with the names, places of birth and achievements of the 1,306 doctor laureates that received their degrees during this time span. These steles were erected to encourage learning and bestow honor on the talented men who assisted the Kings in defending the country.

BAT TRANG POTTERY VILLAGE

Bat Trang Village

The artistry of Bat Trang is well-known throughout Vietnam for its beautiful ceramics.

Bat Trang is a village in North Vietnam about 13 kilometers south east of Hanoi, on the Red river. It has been famous for its ceramics for a thousand years, particularly dinnerware and ornamental ware. The Bat Trang producers export ceramic goods annually to the value of over $40 million.

Perhaps the most outstanding strength of Bat Trang village is its tradition of making pottery. The people are very skilful and talented, producing a product that has a distinctive look. Bat Trang traditional quality pottery includes bowl, dish, pot, cup, wine pot, a big flower-vase, leg lamp, lime-pot, big-bellied jar with glazes such as ancient pearl blaze, crackle glaze, dark glaze, indigo-blue flower glaze, grey flower glaze, melt glaze… Craftsmanship developed over many generations.

Bat Trang Artists are doing their job

They are also able to produce high quality goods to order, meeting the demands of international buyers and their markets, manufactured using controlled processes using modern gas-fired kilns.

Wander our narrow streets and see the vendors with their artware, tableware and ornaments. Little animals, figurines, huge vases, tea sets. Studios with antique collections, craftspeople making the pots, applying the intricate designs, setting the kilns. Packers loading trucks for all parts. Walk to the river, see the old kilns and look for their red fires. Enjoy a tea; it tastes better in Bat Trang! Buy some ceramics so you can enjoy your Bat Trang experience at home.