Hanoi, the capital of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, is a pleasant and even charming city, in large parts because of its famous lakes, shaded boulevards and verdant public parks. The city center is an architectural museum piece, its blocks of ochre buildings retaining the air of a peaceful and austere provincial town, contrary to the fast-living and bustling air of Saigon. The city of Hanoi is a small part now of Greater Hanoi, which has a land area of 2,139 sq.km and a population of about 3,000,000. In the past, Hanoi was first chosen by King Ly Thai To as the capital of the country and was named Thang Long (Descending Dragon) in 1010. Through several successive dynasties, it remained  the country’s capital city, the heart and soul of the whole nation, and has born a variety of names, including Dong Kinh (Eastern capital), from which the Europeans derived the name they eventually applied to all of northern Vietnam, Tonkin. The city was finally named Hanoi (the city in a bend of the river) by Emperor Minh Mang (Nguyen Dynasty) in 1831. From 1902 to 1953, Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina. There are two main seasons in Hanoi: the hot (and rainy) season from May to October with the hottest month: July – average temperature 31 0C; and the cold (and dry) season with the coldest month: January – average temperature 14 0C.

Ethnology Museum
Just opened at the end of 1997, the museum has attracted the attention of visitors, ethnographers and researchers from all over the world. With its astounding collection of 1,000 objects, 15,000 photos and hundreds of tapes about the 60 ethnic groups of Vietnam, it has successfully recreated the daily life together with the religious rituals and the symbolic festivals of each ethnic group.

Fine Arts Museum
With numerous exhibitions of specific fine arts collections including ancient stone sculptures, antique pottery, ethnic minority paintings, lacquer ware, etc., the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum is a lively historical treasure depicting the origins and evolution of Vietnamese fine arts. The entrance is at No. 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc St. and the opening hours are 8:00am-12:00 am & 1:30pm to 4:30pm, from Tues. to Sun.

History Museum
Once the museum of the Ecole Francaise d’Extreme Orient, the building remains one of Hanoi’s most stunning architectural showpieces. It preserves a large number of valuable artefacts from Vietnam’s turbulent past including prehistory, Dong Son culture, etc. to various Vietnamese dynasties as well as the Vietnamese struggles against foreign invaders.

West Lake  & Tran Quoc Pagoda
West Lake , the largest lake in Hanoi, and  Truc Bach Lake are an attractive part of the city. The two lakes are separated by Thanh Nien St. with rows of willow trees offering a picturesque site in the heart of the country. In the past, West Lake was once a resort for mandarins and kings. Now it is a very popular recreational place for Hanoians to enjoy fresh air, peaceful atmosphere and typical dishes. We wouldn’t forget to mention Tran Quoc Pagoda right on the shore of  West Lake which is one of the oldest pagodas in Vietnam.

Hoan Kiem Lake & Ngoc Son Temple
Hoan Kiem Lake, considered the most beautiful lake in Hanoi, is an enchanting body of water right in the heart of the city. Lying on a small island in this lake is Ngoc Son Temple (Jade Mountain) founded in the 18th century and dedicated to the Scholar Van Xuong, General Tran Hung Dao (who defeated the Mongols in the 13th century) and La To (patron saint of physicians). Ngoc Son Temple is reached via the red-painted, wooden bridge – The Huc (Rising Sun) constructed in 1885.

Old Quarter
Hanoi’s Old Quarter of over a-thousand-year history, or 36 streets with each taking a different name after its product, remains one of Vietnam’s most lively and unusual places, where visitors can buy anything from precious stones to silk kimonos. Some of the specialized streets here include Hang Bac with a trip of snazzy jewellery shops or Hang Ngang with a row of clothing shops and tailors. Moreover, a stroll through this historic Old Quarter with a stop at Dong Xuan Market is highly recommended for visitors can get a good dose of Vietnamese culture and some insight into the country’s long history.

President Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum
President Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, the final resting place of President Ho Chi Minh, was constructed between 1973 and 1975 of native materials gathered from all over Vietnam. It now becomes a site of pilgrimage for Vietnamese as well as for foreign visitors. Just some steps from the mausoleum, visitors can visit One-Pillar pagoda resembling a lotus blossom and also  Ho Chi Minh Museum depicting a view of President Ho’s life.

Temple of Literature
The Temple of Literature (Van Mieu) is a pleasant retreat from the streets of Hanoi. Founded in 1070 for the worship of sages of Confucianism, it constitutes a rare example of well-preserved traditional Vietnamese architecture and is well worth a visit. Vietnam’s first university was established here in 1076 to educate the sons of mandarins. In 1482, King Le Thanh Tong ordered the erection of stelae with inscriptions of the names, places of birth and achievemnets of the graduates who had taken examinations since 1442. The stelae are in a form of tortoises which surely give visitors many impressions. Presently, 82 stelae stand at the Temple of Literature.

Bat Trang ceramics village
Half an hour’s drive from Hanoi, across the bridge Chuong Duong and down the northern bank of the Red River, brings you to one of the best-known villages in Vietnam. The residents of Bat Trang have been making ceramic objects for centuries. In their heyday, – some 600 years ago – the artisans were responsible for providing dinnerware for the royal families of the capital city and China, while trader took Bat Trang plates, jars and ornamental items as far afield as Japan, Holland and France. Nowadays, by the help of techniques, Bat Trang village can produce its product in high volumes at a low cost. Mold are used to make votive and ornamental objects in its thousands, which are fired in brick kilns then painted by hand. There is very few artisans still use a wheel to create pottery items.

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To promote the traditional culture of Hanoi’s craft villages, this annual event will include an exhibition of arts and handicrafts, art performances, a seminar on craft villages, a competition of gift designs for the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi and tours to Bat Trang pottery village, Ha Thai lacquer village and Phu Vinh rattan village.

The event is expected to draw 500 craft villages and tens of thousands of domestic and foreign visitors.

Hanoi in the rainbow

A cloudly sky

Fading in the dusk

Yellow cloud in the sunset

Paceful West Lake

Romantic Thanh Niem Road

Historical Long Bien Bridge

Hanoi Flag tower

Hoan Kien Lake from above

Travelers came from traditional markets such as Japan, Russia, France, the United States, the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom.

The rise was attributable to a growing number of overseas Vietnamese who returned to the home country as the city is hosting celebrations of the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi and the National Tourism Year.

Thanks to a longer Tet holiday, the number of outbound tourists also surged remarkably to some 20,000, mainly to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. Meanwhile, domestic holidaymakers on this occasion numbered 1 million despite a 20% rise in tour costs, the department said.

Thousands of cheery trees and kumquats are taken to Hanoi

Bring spring to home

Beautiful pink cherry on bike of a vendor

A big kumquat tree on Hang Bo Street

Cherry trees and branches taken in the northwest region on Au Co Street

Red Ochoa repented in Hanoi for the first time

When visiting the spot, the traveller is usually told the story of Mt. Tu Tram. In ancient times, the brightest and finest star of the heavens, Tu Vi, suddenly fell from the sky and has transformed into a mountain. The local people named it Mt. Tu Tram. In the Le Dynasty, in the seventh year of Canh Tri, 1669, a text was carved in the stone half way up its walls. The mountain was then called Mt. Long Chau or Mt. Phat Tich (the mountain embracing relics and traces of the Buddha).

Mt. Tu Tram is indeed a precious gift of nature. The landscape with its mountain and water is a Holy Land. Enamored with the beautiful landscape of Mt. Tu Tram, in 1516 King Le Chieu Tong had a royal stopover pavilion built and ordered the digging of canals and clearing of streams around the mountain for dragon-boat rides whenever he was free from national affairs. Quite a few religious structures such as altars and shrines, temples and pagodas were built during following dynasties. As a result, today, many architectural vestiges of different times are found, such as the Pagodas of Long Tien, Quan Yin, Vo Vi and Ba Lang, the Cao Son Temple, Mother’s Temple, stone-slab pavilions and towers. Due to the wear of ages and the devastation of wars and nature, some of the architectural relics could not be kept intact and others lie in ruins such as the tower and little temple on the southwestern slope of the mountain.

Long Tien Pagoda, also called Tram Pagoda, was erected in the 7th year of Canh Tri 1669. It has been repaired and restored several times. In the middle of its high stone floor perron stands a stone slab with a relief carving of two lizards. According to some Southeast Asian agricultural people, the lizard symbolizes the fire genie. A group of Buddha statues in the pagoda bears the style of 18-19th century art with very delicate and sophisticated curving lines.

Nature has endowed Mt. Tu Tram with picturesque caves and caverns. Long Tien is the most beautiful cave. Its mouth is not so large but its vault is immense. Hundreds of stalactites in every exotic and eerie form flow from the roof and the walls of the cave. In the 17th year of Chinh Hoa (1696), King Le Hy Tong had dozens of statutes of Buddha, giant guardians and sacred deities carved in the cave. This treasure trove is of immense historic and artistic value, particularly the statute of Amitabha. It portrays him in a zen position on a lotus, with a round, chubby upright face and half-closed eyes, in deep meditation and wearing a sympathetic and savory smile. The piece was masterfully carved with delicate lines in detailed animation. The roof and the walls of the cave still bear the autographs of more than ten famous scholars from the Posterior Le to the Nguyen dynasties. Present are 20 pre-eminent essays in prose and poetry in classical Vietnamese script (Han Nom) heaping praise upon the beautiful landscape of Mt. Tu Tram. This may be seen as a cavern of literary coterie, thud rendezvous of generations of poets. This treasure trove is of a historic and cultural value rarely seen in Vietnam.

In the area of Mt.Trao, very close to Mt. Tu Tram, a little shrine is found on top of a mountain: Vo Vi Pagoda built in 968 AD. Today, on the stone walls around the pagoda are found slabs with scriptures of great historical and artistic value. Each year, when spring comes round, the local people around Mt. Tu Tram hold the Tram Pagoda Festival on the second day of the second lunar month. In the festive atmosphere, village elders recount for the young generation the myths and legends of Mt. Tu Tram.

As explained, Nguyen means origin, Ninh is called after Yen Ninh village which is now Yen Ninh street, near Hang Than. Therefore, Nguyen Ninh green rice flake cake means the cake originated from Yen Ninh village.
Nguyen Ninh’s secret of making the cake is its pure ingredients without additives and mixture. Green rice flake cake is made of green rice flakes, green peas and sugar. Green rice flakes must be from Vong and Lu villages (in the past) or from rice land of Thai Binh (at present) and green peas are carefully selected in Ha Tay province.
As tasting a green rice flake cake, especially made by Nguyen Ninh, one can experience the full flavour of simple villages, a very different and typical Hanoi speciality.

In the morning,  tour guide and driver will pick you up at hotel around 7:30 – 8:00 then transfer to visit Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, One-Pillar Pagoda, Ho Chi Minh Museum, Tran Quoc Pagoda, and Temple of Literature.

Lunch in local restaurant and then continue to visit Hoa Kiem Lake, Ngoc Son Temple, and Historical Museum. Drop off at your hotel at the end of the day.

Hanoi with warm winter and variety of foods makes this thousand year capital city become an attractive destination in winter.

Ancient capital of Russia, St. Petersburg is much more beautiful in the winter when the rivers and cannals are freezed with ices and snows.

The beauties of Reykjavik, capital of Iceland are harmonizing space and natural beauties.

The cultural capital Krakow of Poland with Stare Miasto ancient town listed as wold cultural heritage site by UNESCO 30 years ago.

Tokyo of Japan is lighted in winter with shopping, eating and nightlife activities.

Tallinn in Estonia s famous for a region which has been stored since Middle Age and experiencing for 1000 years developing.

Mumbai in India become cool and dry in the year end.

Edinburg in Scotland is busy and crowded in the winter with many festivals welcoming New Year, ending with a great and colorful road show.

Berlin is coming back as one of cultural centers in the world.

When the world is sleeping in a cold winter, Sydney is shining all day time.

Hanoi is the capital of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the center of culture, politics, economy and trade of the whole country.

Area: 3,324.92 sq. km
Population: 6,448,837 habitants (4/2009).
Administrative divisions:
- 10 urban districts: Hoan Kiem, Ba Dinh, Dong Da, Hai Ba Trung, Tay Ho, Thanh Xuan, Cau Giay, Long Bien, Hoang Mai, Ha Dong.
- 1 city: Son Tay
- 18 rural districts: Dong Anh, Soc Son, Thanh Tri, Tu Liem, Gia Lam (Hanoi); Ba Vi, Chuong My, Dan Phuong, Hoai Duc, My Duc, Phu Xuyen, Phuc Tho, Quoc Oai, Thach That, Thanh Oai. Thuong Tin, Ung Hoa and Me Linh
Ethnic groups: Viet (Kinh), Hoa, Muong, Tay, Dao…

Location:

Located in the heart of Red River Delta, in the North Vietnam, Hanoi shares the border with Thai Nguyen, Vinh Phuc provinces to the north, Hoa Binh and Ha Nam to the south, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh and Hung Yen provinces to the east, Hoa Binh and Phu Tho to the west.

Climate:

Hanoi is situated in a tropical monsoon zone with two main seasons (dry season and wet season). But it can be further divided into 4 distinct seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter.

The spring is from February to April and is characterized by light drizzles keeping the weather wet. The season also culminates with the Lunar New Year Holiday and many festivals. The summer season is relatively hot and humid and consists of the months of May to August. Temperatures can soar as high as 38- 40 degree Celsius with the highest amount of annual rainfall (around 1682 mm/ year).  September to November falls the autumn months. The weather is dry but cool and is considered to be the best season in Hanoi. Winter lasts from December to January, and is cold and dry with temperatures falling as low as 6-7 degree Celsius.

History:

In Vietnamese, “Ha” means the river and “noi” means interior. “Hanoi” means “the hinterland between the rivers” Hanoi’s territory is washed by the Red River and its tributaries, as well as some other rivers flowing through the capital, including Duong, Cau, Ca Lo, Day, Nhue, Tich, To Lich and Kim Nguu.
Hanoi is a sacred land of Vietnam. It was chosen to be the capital of Au Lac Nation (Co Loa citadel) in the 3rd century BC, of Ly Dynasty (Dai La citadel, then called Thang Long). For about a thousand years, the capital was called Thang Long, then changing to Dong Do, Dong Kinh, and finally to Hanoi, in 1831. This sacred piece of land thereafter continued to be the theatre of many fateful events.

Transportation

- Highways: Hanoi is 93km from Ninh Binh, 102km from Hai Phong, 165 km from Halong City, 400 km from Sapa, 474 km from Dien Bien Phu, 658 km from Hue, 763 km from Da Nang, and 1,710km from Ho Chi Minh City.

- Airways: Noi Bai International Airport, over 35km from the city center, is one of the biggest airports of the country with various international and domestic routes. There are domestic flights from Hanoi to Da Nang, Dien Bien, Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, Nha Trang and international flights to many countries from over the world.

- Railways: Hanoi Railway Station is Vietnam’s main railway station. It is the starting point of five railway lines leading to almost every province in Vietnam. Some main train routes available in Hanoi include: Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh (with many stops on the way), Hanoi – Sapa, Hanoi – Halong and Hanoi – China (Nanning Province)

Tourism

As the capital turning 1000 in 2010, Hanoi has within it the finest touch of what a Vietnamese cultural tradition of over a thousand years has to offer. The city hosts more cultural sites than any other cities in Vietnam, including over 600 pagodas and temples. Even though some relics have not survived after wartime, the city still has many interesting cultural and historic monuments for visitors and residents alike.

Hanoi has hundreds of old pagodas and temples such as One-Pillar Pagoda, Temple of Literature, Tran Quoc Pagoda, Thay Pagoda, Tay Phuong Pagoda, Dau Pagoda, Tram Gian Pagoda…; dozens of museums such as Vietnam Military History Museum, Vietnam Ethnology Museum.. as well as many traditional festival (Thay Pagoda Festival, Tay Phuong Pagoda Festival, Huong Pagoda Festival)…

Hanoi also characteristically contains 18 beautiful lakes such as Hoan Kiem Lake (Restored Sword Lake), West Lake, and Truc Bach Lake…, and many famous places: Long Bien Brigde, Dong Xuan Market, Huong Son Tourist Area, Mount Tu Tram, Dong Mo King Island’s Golf Club, Two Binh Da Communal Houses…

Many traditional handicrafts are also practiced in Hanoi including bronze molding, silver carving, lacquer, and embroidery. Hanoi has many famous traditional professional handicraft villages such as and many famous traditional villages such as Bat Trang Ceramic Village, Van Phuc Silk Village, Ngu Xa bronze casting village, Yen Thai glossy silk…Visitors can also enjoy many famous dishes of Hanoians such as Ha Noi noodle, Vong Villages Com…