Hà Nội 21/10/2019

Last day in the north before heading south. I began walking through the Historic Old Quarter, crossing Hà Nội's Train Street and on to the ancient and tiny Chùa Một Cột (One Pillar Pagoda). Constructed in 1049 by the previously childless and grateful Emperor Lý Thái Tông in thanks for the birth of a son (See Wikipedia). The pagoda is reminiscent of a lotus and has only space for one person at a time to approach the shrine.

After Chùa Một Cột, I walked towards Hồ Tây (West Lake) passing through Vườn hoa Lý Tự Trọng (Lý Tự Trọng Park) dedicated to the 17 year old ‘revolutionary martyr’ Lý Tự Trọng, executed by the French in 1931. He had shot “at anti-Communist French secret police” “during a rally in Le Grand Park in Saigon”, then fled south, was later captured, speedily tried, given a capital conviction and executed the next day.

Across from the park is Đền Quán Thánh (Quán Thánh Temple), once through the gate there’s a wide cool tree lined path leading to the temple proper, set well back from the entrance insulating it from the traffic noise from the adjacent major road. It’s a Taoist temple “dedicated to Xuan Wu, or Trấn Vũ in Vietnamese, one of the principal deities in Taoism”. It’s original construction dates to some time in the 11th century but has been rebuilt several times since.

Across the narrow causeway, separating Hồ Tây and Hồ Trúc Bạch (Trúc Bạch Lake), to Chùa Trấn Quốc (Trấn Quốc Pagoda) with its back to back temples; “the oldest pagoda in the city, originally constructed in the sixth century during the reign of Emperor Lý Nam Đế (from 544 until 548)” on a river bank in the Red River Delta and relocated in 1615, due to encroaching water. In the forecourt of the rear temple is “a Bodhi tree taken as cutting of the original tree in Bodh Gaya, India under which the Buddha sat and achieved enlightenment.”

A little further on from Chùa Trấn Quốc and on another small island in Trúc Bạch Lake, I called into the small Đền Thủy Trung Tiên before continuing along Trần Nhật Duật, passing through Ô Quan Chưởng (Quan Chưởng City Gate) and making my way to the hotel along the old quarter’s eccentric streets.

Note: I used Wikipedia as my source, but am having issues with being able to give links that will consistently work due to issues with the rendering of Vietnamese characters.