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Attraction of Hanoi


THE OLD QUARTER

Located alongside the Red River, the Old Quarter has been the city's significant commercial quarter for over thousand years. Since the 13th century when the first group of merchandises settled in this city's quarter, the number of streets has been added up from 36 to 50 streets, some of them are widen up whereas some of them are narrowed down into a warren of alleys.

MUSEUM

Vietnam Army Museum
The Vietnam Army Museum is located on Dien Bien Phu Street in Hanoi. It was formerly the French expeditionary barracks and covers 10,000 sq m divided into 30 showrooms. It opened in December 1959. The Vietnam Army Museum contains objects and documents related to the establishment and development of the Vietnamese armed forces.

There are many artifacts demonstrating the tradition of fighting against foreign aggressors in previous eras. The museum also has many displays depicting the development of the Vietnamese armed forces. The evolution of the Vietnamese National Army and the Vietnamese People's Army (1946-1954) is displayed with weapons, maps, and objects of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign.

The fighting period against the United States army, which ended in 1975, is also represented through maps, models of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, plus artifacts that belonged to heroic Vietnamese soldiers. Several large and impressive artifacts, such as heavy weapons retrieved from enemy forces and shards of US planes, are also exhibited.

Revolution Museum
Established in August 1959, the Revolution Museum is a two-story building, formerly used by the Trade Department. It has been renovated and redesigned into 30 showrooms, containing more than 40,000 historical exhibits.

The first room presents Vietnam and the Vietnamese. The exposition continues with exhibits divided into the following topics:

  • National liberation movements of the Vietnamese against French troops before the Vietnamese Communist Party was established (1858-1930)
  • National independent struggle of the Vietnamese under the leadership of the Communist Party (1930-1975).
  • Construction and defense of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (1976-1994)

Vietnam History Museum
Located on Trang Tien Street, in the center of Hanoi, on a picturesque block of colonial period buildings constructed in the unusual hybrid architectural style of the early 20th century. The grounds of the Museum include a spacious garden area and numerous old canopied trees.

The Vietnamese National History Museum was officially opened to the public on September 3, 1958, on the grounds of what was the Louis Finot Museum during the French colonial period. The original building was built in 1926, and opened in 1932. The architectural features of the building were drawn from the designs of China, India, and Japan, and are fused in a style unique to Indochina.

Vietnam Museum of Ethnology
A convergence of cultures and a scientific ethnological center, the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology has actively contributed to the conservation and development of the national culture, as well as the cultural traditions and identities of the Vietnamese nationalities.

The museum is located on Nguyen Van Thuyen Street (named after a famous national ethnologist), in Cau Giay District, about 7-8 km from downtown Hanoi. It covers an area of nearly 3.3 hectares. Ha Duc Linh, an architect of the Tay ethnic group, designed the museum in the form of the ancient drum of the Dong Son Culture, and interior decorations were designed by French architect, Veronique Dollfus.

TEMPLE & PAGODA

Chan Tien pagoda & the great victory
Chan Tien Pagoda was first recognized in Hanoi's history in a ceremony of Vietnam Independence from foreign invasion. This ceremony was held on December 16, 1427 at the pagoda in Phil Khanh hamlet (Hanoi). Emperor Le Loi conferred the four word title "Nam Phu Nguyen Khanh" on the pagoda. Then in 1888, the French seized the land area of the pagoda to set up the Hoa Lu prison and changed the name of the Phu Khanh hamlet into Hoa Lo Street.

Therefore, the pagoda had to move to its present site at No. 15 1, Ba Trieu Street, Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi. A grand ceremony is held annually at the pagoda and visited by Hanoians and pilgrims from other parts of the country to offer incense and make offerings in commemoration of national heroes Le Loi and Nguyen Trai and military generals who rendered great service to the nation. Chan Tien Pagoda is now listed as one of the distinct historic and cultural relics of Hanoi.

Ly Quoc Su Temple
Situated at No. 50, Ly Quoc Su Street in down town Hanoi, Ly Quoc Su temple worships a great Buddhist Monk of the Ly Dynasty (10th -12th centuries) named Ly Quoc Su, who was said to be excellent in healing and was admired and respected. This pagoda had a 12-storey tower. Apart from preaching Buddhist sutra for the monks and nuns, Ly Quoc Su taught medicine, prescription of medicines and demotic scripts to many people in the temple and surrounding areas. Skilled in bronze casting, Ly Quoc Su also trained many bronze casting craftsmen. Throughout the country there are many pagodas worshipping both Buddhist Monks and Ly Quoc Su, who is considered the Saint of the bronze casting craft, such as Giao Thuy Pagoda in Nam Dinh and Keo Pagoda in Thai Binh.

Ly Quoc Su Temple was rehabilitated and re-decorated many times, with the biggest restoration being made in 1954. The cultural and historical treasure of this temple still remains Ly Quoc Su's statue, Buddhist statues and statues of Monk Tu Dao Hanh and his mother and Monk Giac Hai. There is also the precious bell of Tu Chung, cast in the 19th century and a stone stele with inscriptions made in 1855 by Le Dinh Duyen, a famous man. The name of Ly Quoc Su was given to a 244 metre-long street running from Hang Bong to Nha Tho Streets.

Hanoi Cathedral
Hanoi Cathedral was built on the site of the former Bao Thien Tower, which was famous in the ancient capital of Thang Long under the Ly dynasty (11th and 12th centuries). Hanoi Cathedral, also known as Saint Joseph's Cathedral, was inaugurated on Christmas Day 1886, two years after its construction. Its design is similar to the architecture of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Many catholic rituals have been held there. A ritual ceremony dedicated to Jesus Christ is held in this cathedral every year on March 19.

Quan Thanh Temple
Quan Thanh Temple is an important historical and cultural relic in Quan Thanh ward, Ba Dinh precinct, Hanoi. It was built during the reign of King Ly Thai To (1010-1028). The temple was dedicated to Huyen Thien Tran Vo, or the God who guarded and administered the north of the country. That is why it is also known as the Tran Vo Temple or the Temple of Quan Thanh Tran Vo.

Situated on a large and beautiful area by West Lake near the northern gate of old Thang Long capital, Quan Thanh Temple is one of the Four Guards of Old Thang Long. The existing constructions originate from the last renovations that were made in the 19th century; these renovations included the triple gate, the yard, the front and central worshipping chambers, and the shrine. A bronze statue, nearly 4 m in height and 4 tons in weight, was cast in 1677 and dedicated to the holy Huyen Thien Tran Vo.

Ngoc Son Temple
Hoan Kiem Lake was already considered the most beautiful lake in Hanoi when Ngoc Son Temple was built on an island in the 19th century. Initially, the temple was called Ngoc Son Pagoda and was later renamed Ngoc Son Temple, since temples are dedicated to saints. Saint Van Suong, considered to be one of the brightest stars in Vietnam's literary and intellectual circles, was worshipped there. National hero Tran Hung Dao was also worshipped after he had led the Vietnamese people to victory over the Nguyen aggressors.

The temple as it is today is the result of renovations made by Nguyen Van Sieu in 1864. A great Hanoi writer, Nguyen Van Sieu had a large pen-shaped tower built at the entrance of the temple. On the upper section of the tower, also called Thap But, are three Chinese characters Ta Thanh Thien, which literally means "to write on the blue sky is to imply the height of a genuine and righteous person's determination and will"; Dai Nghien, meaning "ink stand", is carved from stone resembling a peach placed on the back of the three frogs on top of the gate to the temple; and The Huc, meaning "where rays of morning sunshine touch". On the way to the temple there are several cau doi, parallel sentences, written on the walls. These cau doi were part of traditional word puzzles played by educated individuals.

Quan Su Pagoda
Quan Su Pagoda was first built on the land of An Tap village, Tho Xuong district, on the southern gate of Thang Long capital. Formerly, it was a small Buddhist pagoda, located near the Quan Su house which had been constructed during the Le dynasty in the 15th century to receive foreign envoys and ambassadors.

In 1934, the pagoda was the head quarter of the Tonkin Buddhist Association. Since 1942, the pagoda has been restored and expanded many times, with a larger and better architectural structure. Nowadays, this place acts as the headquarters of the Vietnam Central Buddhist Congregation, at 73 Quan Su Street, Tran Hung Dao ward, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi.

Tran Quoc Pagoda
Tran Quoc Pagoda is the oldest of all pagodas in Hanoi. Located beside the dazzling West Lake in Hanoi, Tran Quoc Pagoda is a cultural symbol of Vietnamese Buddhism. It is said that, the pagoda was built under the reign of King Ly Nam De (544-548) under its original name of Khai Quoc (National Founder). It was originally built on the bank of the Red River (then West Lake and the Red River met). In the time of King Le Kinh Tong (1600-1618), the pagoda was removed to the Kim Ngu (Golden Fish) Islet due to the river bank crumbling and was renamed Tran Quoc (National Defence).

Unlike other ordinary pagodas, the Tran Quoc Pagoda was built intri-Behind the worshipping shrine is the Buddhist trinity followed by corridors, ten shrines and the belfry. In the pagoda, there are many valuable statues, such as the red lac­statue trimmed with gold of Sakyamouni Buddha's Parinirvana and many ancient steles, with the old one made in 1639 by Doctoral Lau Nguyen Xuan Chinh recording the Pagoda's history.

In 1959, on his visit to Vietnam, Indian Prime Minister Razendia Prasat offered the Pagoda a bodhi tree as a gift. The plant was grafted from the holy bodhi tree where Sakyamuni sat in zen (meditation) position 25 centuries ago. Now the bodhi tree is green and luxuriant, shading part of the pagoda's yard. As a religious relic among spectacle scenery, Tran Quoc Pagoda is a favorite stop-over of many foreign visitors and pilgrims.



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