Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam 河内旅游景点 （越南首都）

HANOI
Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and the country’s second largest city.  It served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1954 and was the capital of North Vietnam before its reunification with South Vietnam in 1976.  The Japanese occupied the city during the Second World War from 1940 to 1945.   Hanoi is located 1,760 km north of Ho Chi Minh City.

Summers (from May to September) are hot and humid and winters are relatively cool and dry. 

The Old Quarter, near the city landmark of Hoan Kiem Lake, still preserves the original architectural buildings.  Each street had merchants specialized in a particular trade with the street names still reflecting the specialization.  A night market opens for business every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening, selling variety of clothing, souvenirs and food.

City of lakes

Hanoi has many scenic lakes and is sometime called “city of lakes”.  The most famous lake is the Hoan Kiem Lake (还剑湖) (top left) also known as Lake of Return Sword; around the lake is the historical, cultural and commercial centre of Hanoi. West Lake (西湖) (top right) is the largest lake in Hanoi and is a popular place for the locals and tourists alike to relax.  There are many temples and eating stall around the lake.  A better way to go round the lake is on motorcycles

The Temple of Literature – also known as Van Mieu (文庙), is a temple dedicated to Confucius, an ancient scholar, philosopher of China. It was built in 1070 and reconstructed in subsequent dynasties.  Despite wars, the Temple has preserved ancient architectural styles of many dynasties. It was used as a place to educate bureaucrats, nobles, royalty and members of the elite. The layout of the Temple is similar to that at Qufu, Shandong, birthplace of Confucius

The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum located in the centre of Ba Dinh Square, is the place where Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence on 2 September 1945, establishing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.  Construction work began in September 1973.  The embalmed body of Ho Chi Minh (19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969) is preserved there. The mausoleum is closed occasionally for preservation work otherwise is open to public daily from 09:00  to 12:00.

Hanoi streets today

Marble sculpture	Balancing skill	Porcelain ware	Dong Xuan Market

Lacquered handicraft	Colourful handmade lampshades	For the fashion lots

	This temple, located on the Hoan Kiem Lake, is a typical Chinese temple in Hanoi. There are many couplet [对联 pron: dui lian in Chinese] that greet visitors as they walk along and also inside  the temple building.
Museum of Ethnology - The Viet make up almost 86% of the population of Vietnam, comprising the largest of the 54 ethnic groups.  Displays include culture, musical, dresses, literature, ritual and living styles of the Viet, Muong, Yao, Tay, Nung and others.  Houses of various ethnic groups are also built for view.