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Hanoi

Pictures by QT Luong

Hanoi is a capital with a millennium-long history. The architecture includes some of the most known Vietnamese classic monuments, decaying but relatively intact examples of French colonial buildings, and a few communist monuments. Hanoi was actually not bombed until late in the war. The city is pleasant, with lakes, many trees, open boulevards, and much less pollution and noise than Saigon. As the pace of change there has been slower, traditions there are stronger. The old city has still its specialty trades, among its narrow streets, and there are several opportunities to see traditional arts performances.

Although the site had been inhabited before, Hanoi's development began when Emperor Ly Thai To moved the capital there in 1010. The One-pillar pagoda and the Temple of the Literature date from that period. Hanoi continued to serve as a capital until 1788, when the Le dynasty was overthrown, after which Emperor Gia Long moved the capital to Hue. From 1902 to 1953, Hanoi was the capital of French Indochina. While the Opera house and several villas have been restaured, most of the former French quarters have has the nostalgia of a fading postcard of colonial French architecture. The stained and aging painted walls have a lot of character. After 1954, Hanoi became the capital of North Vietnam, and following the 1975 events it became the capital of the unified country. You can still see there one of the only remaining Lenin statues in the world. The visit to the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum is interesting. Some find the atmosphere eerily authoritarian and sanitized, while for others it is an emotional moment.

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