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Hanoi Travel Guide
History
Hanoi is one of the first known permanent settlements in the region founded around 200 BC. Hanoi has had many Sino-Vietnamese names throughout history, and in 866 it was named ??i La. In 1010, Ly Thai To, the first king of the Ly Dynasty, moved the capital of D?i Viet (the Great Viet), then the name of Vietnam, to Dai La. There it was the capital of Vietnam until 1397, when the capital was moved to Thanh Hoa, also known as Tay Do.
In 1408, the Chinese attacked and occupied Vietnam, but in 1428 the Vietnamese overthrew the Chinese, and the capital was renamed Dong Kinh (Eastern Capital). This is where the European name of “Tonkin” came from.
In 1802, the Nguyen Dynasty was established and the capital was moved to Hue, and in 1831 the Nguyen emperor Minh Mang, renamed the former capital, Ha Noi (translated as Betweenthe Rivers). Hanoi was occupied by the French in 1873, and became the capital of French Indochina after 1887.
Hanoi was occupied by the Japanese from 1940 to 1945. Then when Ho Chí Minh proclaimed the independence of Vietnam after WWII, for a short time it was the seat of the Viet Minh government. But the French returned and reoccupied the city in 1946. After nine years of fighting between the Viet Minh forces and the French, in 1954 Hanoi became the capital of an independent North Vietnam.
During the Vietnam War bridges and railways and other infrastructure in Hanoi was heavily bombed by the U.S. At the end of the war, Hanoi became the capital of a reunified Vietnam on July 2, 1976.
After the war, Hanoi remained in a kind of economic hibernation for almost forty years until the economic reforms started to take hold. The city somehow managed to survive the American bombing and the Russian planning mostly intact, and many ways is still an example of a French colonial city.
What To See & Do
There are many things to see and do in Hanoi, and some of the most important, and most visited, tourist sites include: the Temple of Literature, the site of Vietnam's first university from 1070; the Museum of Ethnology with many displays about Vietnam's 54 ethnic minorities; the One Pillar Pagoda, and the infamous Hoa Lo Prison, sarcastically called the "Hanoi Hilton", where American prisoners of war were held during the Vietnam War.
Other ‘must do’ activities include taking in a Water Puppet show with Vietnamese traditional instruments and singing; and a cyclo ride around the bustling narrow streets of the Old Quarter, known as the 36 streets, is also popular.
The Sights & Sounds of Hanoi Hanoi is now a large bustling city, where the old Asia combines with the new dynamic Asia. There are sections of the city where there is still a touch of Parisian grace, and the old architectural is quietly preserved alongside of, and existing in harmony with the hum of modernity. Unlike many of the capitals of Indochina, Hanoi in general has not suffered from the destruction of rampant bulldozing.
Swarms of motorbikes crowd the narrow streets of the Old Quarter, which for almost 1000 years, has been the seat of commerce of Hanoi. It is a good place to watch the throb of business in this city full of life as hawkers sell their wares, and local Hanoi folk sit and drink coffee or beer and watch the passing parade.
Huge mansions line the wide boulevards, and there are parks and lakes in the city, and you can still see local people at dawn doing Tai Chi by Hoan Kiem Lake, while old men intently play chess. The many lakes in the city present a romantic backdrop to the ever-present sound of the city.
Hanoi is a city with an ancient history, a colonial legacy and a modern outlook. Known by many names through the centuries, Thanh Long, the City of the Soaring Dragon, is perhaps the most fitting in this century.
Cambodia
Betweenthe Rivers). Hanoi was occupied by the French in 1873, and became the capital of French Indochina after 1887.
Hilton", where American prisoners of war were held during the Vietnam War.
business in this city full of life as hawkers sell their wares, and local Hanoi folk sit and drink coffee or beer and watch the passing parade.