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 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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