Hoan Kiem Lake History

The Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre sits behind a bright red facade on Dinh Tien Hoang Street, characterized by the constant crowd gathered near its wooden entrance. This building serves as the permanent home for an art form born in the…

Đền Bà Kiệu features a three-story tiled gate capped by a sweeping, upturned roof, standing directly across from the shore of Hoan Kiem Lake. Originally built in the seventeenth century, this temple honors three goddesses who oversee the…

Ngoc Son Temple sits on a small island in the northern part of Hoan Kiem Lake, connected to the shore by a bright red wooden bridge called the Huc Bridge. Dedicated to the legendary hero Tran Hung Dao and several scholars, the temple…

The bronze statue of King Ly Thai To stands ten feet tall, depicting the monarch holding the decree of the capital's relocation. He wears a flowing robe and holds a scroll, his gaze fixed toward the Hoan Kiem Lake. Sculptor Vi Thi Hoa…

The Hanoi Post Office features a bright yellow facade with clean, white rectangular frames around its windows. It stands as a remnant of the French colonial administration, built in the early twentieth century to anchor the communication…

The remains of Tháp Hoà Phong stand as a solitary brick structure featuring arched doorways on all four sides, distinguished by its weathered, rugged texture against the modern city. This tower is the only surviving remnant of the Bao An…

The Turtle Tower sits on a tiny, man-made island in the center of Hoan Kiem Lake. Its three-tiered structure features a blend of French architectural flourishes atop a traditional Vietnamese base. While local legend connects the lake to a…

The Ly Thai To monument features a massive, bronze statue of the emperor standing firmly on a rectangular granite pedestal. It commemorates the man who moved the capital to Hanoi in one thousand and ten. In the nineteen eighties, the city…