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Ha Noi


Hue


Ho Chi Minh City


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West Lake:
Ho Tay (West Lake) & Duong Thanh Nien (Youth Road) : Youth Road can be compared to a beautiful bridge spanning across the two large bodies of water - West Lake to the northwest and Truc Bach Lake to the southeast. Covering an area of nearly 500 hectares, Ho Tay was also called Dam Dam (Misty Pond), Lang Bac (White Waves)....Oral tradition has it that Ho Tay derived from a low-lying area upturned by a golden buffalo, so the stream derived from Ho Tay was named Song Kim Nguu (Golden Buffalo River). As for Truc Bach Lake, legend has it that in the old days, Truc Bach Lake was where lived the abandoned ladies-in-waiting who were forced to weave silk. Therefore, beautiful silk was called Truc Bach (Silk of the Tr�c village). As the biggest lake in the city, Ho Tay is surrounded by many areas reputed for their traditional occupations : Yen Phu and Nghi Tam (silkworm-breeding and silk-weaving villages in the past), Quang Ba, Nhat Tan (peach-growing village), Buoi (paper-making village). In Tay Son times, Nguyen Huy Luong wrote Tung Tay Ho Phu (Eulogy for West Lake) so as to highlight the landscapes of the West Lake and Nguyen Hue 's (future Quang Trung) glorious merits. Now, Ho Tay has been earmarked for the city's major tourism development center.

Hoan Kiem Lake:
The name of this lake is derived from a legend having it that a fisherman named Le Than caught a sword blade when drawing the fish-net. Than decided to offer it to his commanding general Le Loi (future Le Thai To). Afterwards, Le Loi found a hilt fitting that blade very well. This sword had always been on his side during 10 years of resistance against Ming aggressors. After winning over the foreign aggression, King Le Thai To returned to Thang Long Citadel. One day, aboard a royal boat, he took a cruise in the Luc Thuy lake. Suddenly, a giant turtle emerged and came towards him. The king withdrew his sword, and pinpointed with the sword the direction of the coming turtle for his soldiers' attention. All of a sudden, the turtle caught the sword between its teeth from the king's hand and submerged. The king thought that during the resistance against Ming aggressors, the genius had offered him this sword to help him defeat the enemy. At that time, the peace was returning, and the genius appeared to take back the sword. Consequently, King Le Thai To decided to name the Luc Thuy lake Ho Hoan Kiem (Lake of Restored Sword). In the middle of the lake is Thap Rua (Turtle Tower). The lake abounds in big turtles aged five or six hundred. When there are the changes in weather, they often emerge or expose themselves at the foot of the Turtle Temple.
Besides, Ha Noi has such attractions as Ho Chi Minh 's Mausoleum, Ho Chi Minh Museum, History Museum, Revolution Museum, Army Museum, Fine Arts Museum, Palace of Friendship....

ARE HOAN KIEM TORTOISES AN UNKNOWN SPECIES?
    The legendary tortoises in Hoan Kiem lake have turned out to be an unknown species, following recent research. The existence of tortoises in the lake was only known after the appearance of Kim Qui (the Golden Tortoise) God in the fifteenth century, when he took back the magical sword that brought victory to Emperor Le Thai To.
   Kim Qui has appeared twice throughout national history, according to legend. Before the appearance in Hoan Kiem lake, the first appearance was in the 3rd century BC when a golden tortoise helped King An Duong Vuong (Thuc Phan) to construct the spiral shaped defense of the ancient capital of Co Loa. But the actual place of the appearance is still unknown. When Co Loa was attacked by Trieu Da, the king of a neighboring country, Kim Qui gave An Duong Vuong his claw to make a magical cross-bow which created a rain of arrows upon the foreign invaders. The arrogance of victory eclipsed the King's mind, however, and he lost the next war, after losing the magical cross-bow. The remains of the city can be seen in Dong Anh district, 25 kilometers from Ha Noi . It is believed that Kim Qui is one of the tortoises currently living in the lake. However, many different species of tortoise apart from the giant tortoise (Pelochelys fibroin) have been identified in a study of the lake's habitat in 1993.
    This was affirmed by Dr. Peter C.H. Pritchard, Director of the US Chelonian Institute during a visit early this year. "Hoan Kiem tortoises may be a division of Chinese soft-shell tortoises (Rafetus swinhoei) or an unknown species. It is perhaps an unknown species, and if so, may be named after the lake as Hoankiemensis or Hoguomensis.
     To prove this conclusion, a sample of skin or bone from the Hoan Kiem tortoises will be sent to foreign genetics laboratories for DNA analysis.

HA NOI - NGHI TAM: A VILLAGE OF FLOWERS ?

Once upon a time, the King of Nha Hau Ly decided to build a palace for Princess Tu Hoa in a village near Thang Long so that she could spend her time farming silk cocoons on the large mulberry fields. The village was Nghi Tam, a name now famous throughout the country for the flowers grown here. Nghi Tam flowers in fact add to the beauty of Ho Tay or the West Lake area in present-day Ha Noi. It is said that Nha Hau Ly in Vietnam was not only famous for its glorious victories in defense of the country against foreign invaders. It paid much attention to the development of agriculture and handicrafts.

For long, the village of Tam (or the village of silk cocoons) had been known for its handlooms. The story of this village goes as follows : Initially, there were only three basic kinds of trees grown here, i.e. the peach, kumquat and chrysanthemum Peach trees and their spring blossom have brought fame to this village. Originally, the cultivation of peach started in the village of Tam, then spread to Nhat Tan. Young peach trees are carefully tended and allowed to blossom only on the Lunar New Year's Eve. Hanoi an take the utmost care in the selection of their New Year branch of peach. From the size to the form of the branch and the design of the pot, every tiny detail must be in harmony with the sentiment or philosophy that one wishes to express, in addition to matching with the interior decoration of the house. Kumquat is another species that spread from Tam village to Tay Ho. During Tet, most families in Ha Noi, and now throughout the country, have their kumquat trees inside the home. Kumquat is used by Vietnamese to symbolize "talents" and "wealth" for the family.

White apricot blossoms called "Bach mai" in Vietnamese are yet another scene-stealer in Nghi Tam. The villagers of Nghi Tam consider an apricot blossom as beautiful only when it has six white soft petals on a green calyx. They must resemble the swallow's wings in the spring days. There is also a kind of green apricot which is rare and valuable. Then there is "Song mai" or "Double apricot" since each flower gives two fruits. The apricot branch should be able to incorporate the spirit. After the flowering season, the branch starts to give fruit which are washed and put in a ceramic cask to prepare apricot wine for the following New Year's festival. Narcissus of various kinds are also cultivated in Nghi Tam. The people here know the secret of making these flowers bloom at the required time as on New Year's Eve or on the wedding day etc. Each narcissus pot should have about 20-30 flowers blooming to the right degree to express the virginity of the bride. Along with these species of flowers, Nghi Tam is also known for the chrysanthemum and camellia species it grows. But the concern now is that with the rapid urbanization of the locality, will it continue to preserve this beautiful tradition?

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