Ha Noi
Overview of Hanoi – Northern Vietnam
Hanoi, the political capital of Vietnam, means “inside the river” in Vietnamese and is situated along the banks of the Red River. Over time, due to floods and changes in its course, the river has created several lakes dotted with small islands that characterize the urban landscape. Hanoi presents itself as a typical early-century French city, with long boulevards, parks, and buildings that recall the French style, a legacy of colonial rule. Speaking of Hanoi, Northern Vietnam, there is no shortage of aspects that recall the centuries-old Asian culture. Despite the bombings the city endured, most of its historical buildings are still in fair condition.
The Ethnographic Museum of Hanoi – a Vietnam in miniature
A brief history of Hanoi – Northern Vietnam:
Hanoi was founded at the beginning of the 11th century under the name Thang Long by Emperor Ly Thai To, who made it the capital of his kingdom, embellishing it with numerous palaces and gardens. The city remained the capital until 1802, when Emperor Gia Long decided to move to Hue. Over the centuries, the city changed names several times, among which Dong Kinh is of particular importance; garbled by the French as Tonkin, it was used by the colonizers to designate the entire northern region of the country. In 1831, it was definitively baptized Hanoi (city on the bend of the river).
In 1902, Hanoi, Northern Vietnam, became the capital again, first of French Indochina and, following the August Revolution of 1945, of all of Vietnam, definitively assuming this role in 1954 with the signing of the Geneva Accords.
After the dark postwar years, characterized by a massive exodus to the countryside to escape hunger, Hanoi has begun to repopulate today, opening up to tourism and the revival of the economic process, with evident results and advantages, even if social contrasts have sharpened in an urban expansion that is becoming increasingly frantic.
Inside a Pho Thin Bo Ho shop during a street food tour in Hanoi Vietnam
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