Mentioning about Vietnam is thinking of a country with the shape of letter S in alphabet. To achieve such a gorgeous and charming appearance like today, Vietnam has suffered from a tremendous length of history with numerous fights and revolution. Thanks to those changes in the previous period, Vietnam nowadays remains many antique architecture that play an essential role in historical preservation. The Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, among those amazing places, attracts tourists not only with its incredible history but also its unique structure.
Located in the heart of Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, The Imperial Citadel of Thang Long is the cultural complex comprising the royal enclosure first built during the Ly Dynasty and subsequently expanded by Tran, Le and eventually Nguyen Dysnaty. The ruins roughly coincide with the Hanoi Citadel today. The royal palaces and most of the structures in Thang Long were in varying states of disrepair by the late 19th century with the upheaval of the French conquest of Hanoi. By the 20th century many of the remaining structures were torn down. Only in the 21st century are the ruin foundations of Thang Long Imperial City systematically excavated.
The ancient site was the political centre of the country for 13 consecutive centuries and served as the capital of Vietnam for eight centuries. A notable attraction in the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long was the Flag Tower of Hanoi, a renovated 40-metre-tall stone fortress offering expansive views of Ba Dinh Square and Hanoi City Centre. This prominent site is also within a 15-minute walk from attractions such as Quan Thanh Temple, Vietnam Military History Museum and Cua Bac Church. It would be nothing if you once come to Hanoi but did not go through that amazing destination.
Entering this architecture, you would see the Doan Mon, which is the Main Gate in English, one of the main entrances to the Forbidden City. The monument is situated in the south of Kinh Thien Palace on the same axis with Hanoi Flag Tower. Doan Mon was built horizontally in U-shape. Doan Mon was built in the style of ancient city wall with five gates symmetrically erecting through a “deity axis”, also known as the “righteousness axis” of the Imperial Citadel. The main architectural part followed watch tower gazebo style with three rolling arches. Rolling arch architecture at the gates not only brought graceful curves, but also had excellent load-bearing structures. Till now, the most modern and spectacular tunnel projects in the world are still using this architecture. What’s more, materials are mostly wooden-hammer bricks, a popular type of bricks under Le Dynasty and rock which were used for building the arch. If you have ever visited it, you would be amazed by its ancient but fabulous and amazing structure. Why not have a photo to catch an unique moment that can hardly find from the busy life!
As coming to The Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, you will have a chance to take a look at some historic places included in this complex structure. The most noticeable attraction is the 18 Hoang Dieu Archaeological Monuments. Like its name, this place is located near from the centre of Thang Long Citadel, which was the largest archaeological one in Vietnam to date, aiming at preparing to build a new Parliament House. In particular, it is analyzed and divided into 4 zones, named A, B, C, and D by Archaeological Institute. In this area, archeologists have found a lot of different types of architectural monuments and relics with mixed date, overlaying on top of each other over the past 1300 years, starting from Dai La Dynasty to Nguyen Dysnasty (1802 – 1945). Rare countries in the world have the capital that still preserves relics in the earth of long-term cultural and historical layers overlaying quite continuously like in Thang Long – Hanoi. This is a salient point, contributing to tremendous value and uniqueness of the relics. For further information, you can get the best general view once coming to see it in real life.
Hanoi deserves to become a tranquil but wonderful city where there is a combination of the ancient and modern beauties. You wouldn’t feel regretful spending some days walking around Hanoi and enjoy one of the most incredible moments in your life where you could find your peaceful soul together with the beautiful nature and the antique but awesome architecture.
