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NORTH VIETNAM
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HANOI
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Hoan Kiem Lake
and Ngoc Son Temple
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is located in the center of Hanoi Hoan
Kiem Lake
also called Lake of the Restored Sword.
The name Lake of the Restored Sword is
derived from a legend . Hoan
Kiem Lake
was already considered the most beautiful lake in Hanoi
when Ngoc Son Temple
was built on an island in the 19th century. Ngoc Son Temple is
reached via the wooden The Huc (Where rays of morning sunshine touch)
Bridge. To the left of the gate stands an obelisk whose top is shaped
like a paintbrush and is an interesting temple and worth the odd photo . Initially, the temple was called Ngoc Son Pagoda and
was later renamed Ngoc
Son Temple,
since temples are dedicated to saints
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Temple of
Literature & Pavilion of the Constellation of
Literature
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The Temple
of Literature (Van Mieu - Quoc Tu
Giam) is a famous historical and cultural relic consisting of the Temple of Literature
and Vietnam’s
first university. The Temple
of Literature was
built in 1070 in honour of Confucius, his followers and Chu Van An, a
moral figure in Vietnamese education.
The Pavilion of the Constellation of Literature (Khue Van Cac) is
in Temple
of Literature, was
built under the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945) . Van
Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam (National
College) now
preserves 82 steles engraved with the names of 1,306 doctors who obtained
the doctoral titles at 82 royal examinations, held from 1442 to 1779.
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West Lake & Tran Quoc
Pagoda
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West Lake is an attractive spot at the West of the City. West Lake
has an area of 500ha and is the largest lake in Hanoi. Tran Quoc Pagoda is located on an islet
of West Lake in Hanoi Tran Quoc Pagoda is one of the oldest pagodas
in Vietnam and a cultural symbol of Vietnamese Buddhism
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One Pillar Pagoda
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One Pillar Pagoda (Chua Mot
Cot) is on Chua Mot Cot Street,
Ba Dinh District, Hanoi m this pagoda
is a cultural and historic relic, unique for its architectural
features , The pagoda was first built in 1049 under the Ly Dynasty, on
the west side of the ancient Thang Long Capital. Its original name was
Dien Huu, expressing the wish for longevity for the second King Ly. The
pagoda is built in the shape of a lotus blooming on its stem , after the
description of a dream of King Ly Thai Tong who reigned between 1028 and
1054, in which Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, the Goddess of Mercy, led him
to a lotus flower
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Vietnam Museum of Ethnology
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Vietnam Museum of Ethnology is dedicated to scientific research and the enhancement of the
cultural and historical heritage of the 54 ethnic groups of Vietnam.
It has a collection of close to 25,00 objects from the people of Vietnam,
as well as photographic and audio-visual resources
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Quan Thanh Temple
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Quan Thanh Temple
is situated in Quan Thanh Ward, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi. is one of the Four Guards of Old Thang Long. Quan Thanh
Temple is an important
historical and cultural relic, on a large and beautiful area by West Lake near the northern gate of old
Thang Long Capital
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Hanoi Cathedral
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is at 40 Nha Chung Street, Hoan Kiem
District, Hanoi Cathedral was
built on the site of the former Bao Thien Tower, which was famous in the
ancient capital of Thang Long under the Ly Dynasty (the 11th
and 12th centuries)
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QUANG
NINH
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Halong Bay
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is one
of Vietnam's most beautiful areas, Halong Bay has fascinating limestone
formations, coves for night-time excursions, sheer cliffs, grottoes,
arches and scores of small islets … This site is certificated by UNESCO
as a World’s Natural Heritage ….. more details
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Yen Tu
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Yen Tu is made up of a system
of pagodas, shrines, towers and forests belonging to Thuong Yen Cong
Commune, Uong Bi Town, Quang Ninh
Province. Situated
within the immense arched mountain range of north - eastern Vietnam,
the beauty of Yen Tu consists in the majesty of its mountains mingling
with the ancient and solemn quietness of its pagodas, shrines and towers.
Under the Ly Dynasty, Yen Tu
held the Phu Van Pagoda with Yen Ky Sinh as its warden. But Yen Tu only
really became a Buddhism Centre when Emperor Tran Nhan Tong surrendered
his throne to establish a Buddhist sect called Thien Truc Lam and became
the first progenitor with the religious name Dieu Ngu Giac Hoang Tran
Nhan Tong (1258-1308). Passing through to the Le and Nguyen Dynasties,
Yen Tu was still the focal point of Vietnamese Buddhism
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HAI PHONG
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Du Hang Pagoda
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Du Hang Pagoda is located at 121 Du Hang Street, Du
Hang Kenh Ward, Le Chan District, Haiphong City , is one of the most ancient pagodas in this city and is one you
need to take your camera for. It was built three centuries ago by Nguyen Dinh Sach, an
officer of the imperial guard who resigned and became a Buddhist monk , and the decoration on
the pagoda is exquisite as well as houses many ancient furnishings
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Cat Ba Island
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Cat Ba archipelago (100km²) out of the 366 islands on
the Lan Ha Bay , Cat Ba island
is the largest in the Cat Ba archipelago , situated in
Cat Hai District, Haiphong
City. This is one of the major beach
destinations in Vietnam
and has beautiful beaches and pristine waters. The mountains are riddled
with caves and grottos. The mountain adjacent to Cat Co Beach has a
tunnel and fascinating caves and grottoes, such as Hang Luon, Khe Sau,
Trung Trang, Gia Luan and Kim Cuong. Visiting these caves and grottoes
you will get the feeling of the explorers, discovering the wonders and
mysteries endowed by nature
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Bac kan
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Ba Be Lake
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Lie in the middle of a vast limestone mountain
range of Ba Be District, Bac Kan Province
240km from the north-west of Hanoi.
Being dubbed a "precious jade of Vietnam"
and one of 500 lakes recognised as worthy of attention. Ba Be Lakes, located 145m
above sea level, are among the largest natural lakes in Vietnam with a total surface
area of 500ha. The surface of the lake was tranquil.
Ba Be Lakes area has a lot to offer, including
waterfalls, rivers, valleys, lakes, and caves all set amidst picturesque
landscapes. Ba Be Lakes are surrounded by many ancient trees, from which
several varieties of precious wood are obtained. Up to 30 animal species
such as wild pigs, bears, panthers, monkeys, and birds inhabit the area
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Bac Ninh
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But Thap Pagoda
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Situated on the dike of the
Duong River, Dinh To Commune, Thuan Thanh District, Bac Ninh Province.The pagoda was built in 17th
century, according to "Noi
Cong Ngoai Quoc" architectural style and includes 10
buildings spread over 100m, from the three-entrance gate to the
bell-tower and back house. Two towers, 10m high Ton Duc and 13m high Bao
Nghiem, are made of white rock, making the pagoda seem higher, more
majestic and peaceful. Some remains of the 17th century are
kept here such as statues, valuable donations, Nine-Story
Lotus Tower,
Tuyet Son Statue, Bao
Nghiem Tower,
and Statue of Kwan Yin with 1,000 arms and 1,000 eyes
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Cao Bang
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Ban Gioc Fall
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Ban Gioc Fall is situated In Trung Khanh
District, Cao
Bang Province,
nears the Sino-Vietnamese border. Ban Gioc Fall
is famous for a famous fish named “tram huong”. Water from Quy
Xuan River
falling down on the stone creates water droplets columns that can be seen
from a distance. The echo of the falls can be heard kilometers away from
Trung Khanh.
At the foot of the waterfall is a large river,
as calm as glass, surrounded by many precious kinds of flowers. In the
early 1920s, French people started building cottages on the river banks.
They would come here to relax and fish for “tram huong”.
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HA TAY
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The Vietnamese Ancient Pagodas
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Tay Phuong Pagoda Tay Phuong Pagoda is located on Tay Phuong mountain in Yen Village, Thach That District, Ha Tay Province. It is 37km from Hanoi,
along the Hanoi
- Son Tay route, Tay Phuong Pagoda was built during the 6th and
7th centuries, and is also an exposition gallery for many national
engraving and sculpture masterpieces. Tay Phuong pagoda is mostly famous
for the statues it contains, magnificent wooden sculptures representing
Buddhas as well as Vajrapanis (Kim Cuong) and Arhats (La Han) who are
middle-ranking Buddhist deities. One in particular portrays Sakyamuni in
meditation at the foot of Tuyet Son (Snow Mountain).
He was then leading a life of extremely severe ascetism, and his
emaciated body, as represented by the statue, shows good knowledge by the
artist of human anatomy. The figures of the arhats each bear distinctive
features which depict meditation in original aspects. All are impressive
works of art
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Thay Pagoda Situated at
the foot of Sai
Son Mountain,
in Quoc Oai District. The pagoda was built in the 11th century during the
reign of Ly Nhan Tong King. At first, it was a small pagoda managed by
Priest Tu Dao Hanh. The pagoda was initially built according to
Sino-Vietnamese character Tam - this character is formed by 3 hyphens
parallel to each other , In front of the pagoda
is Long Tri pond, in the middle of which is a stage called Thuy Dinh,
where water puppet performances are held. So , Priest Tu Dao Hanh is knew
also as the Creator of Vietnamese water-puppetry
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Tram Gian Pagoda Situated in
Tien Lu Village, Hoai Duc District. This Pagoda is built in the
"noi cong ngoai quoc" architectural style which means Cong
Chinese character in the inner part and the Quoc Chinese character
in the outer
The pagoda was probably originally
built in 1185 during the reign of King Ly Cao Tong on its present site at
the top of the low Tien Lu, or Ma Hill. It nestles snugly on that hill in
a natural cushion of mature trac, or kingwood and tram, or
canari trees, and watched over by giant pines. It’s impressive
construction and history immerse the visitor immediately: its
multi-pillared temples, ornate altars, leisure areas, where mandarins
would play chess with live human pieces
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Huong Son Pagoda In My Duc District, 70km from Hanoi. It was
considered as "the most beautiful grotto in Vietnam" ,
Huong Son Area covers an area of a thousand hectares and includes a
complex of mountains, rivers and streams, villages, pagodas, and grottoes
surrounded by the Huong Tich Mountain Range, north of the Truong Son Range.
This area is divided into three lines :
Huong
Tich Line: It consists of Yen Stream, Trinh
Temple, Hoi
Bridge, Thanh Son and Huong Dai
Pagoda, Thien Tru, Hinh Bong, Tien Pagoda, Giai Oan Pagoda, Cua Vong Temple,
Huong Tich Grotto .
Long Van Line: It consists of Long Van Pagoda
and Grotto, Fairy Grotto, Nguoi Xua Grotto, Cay Khe Pagoda, Hinh Bong
Pagoda
Tuyet Pagoda Line: It consists of Phu Yen Temple, Tuyet Son
Pagoda, Ca Pagoda, Bao Dai Co Sat, Mau Pagoda, Thuong Pagoda, Ngoc Long
Pagoda
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LAI CHAU
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Historical Sites of Dien Bien Phu
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Located in and around the 20km-long-valley of Dien Bien Phu. After the victorious battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, almost all historical sites of
this battle lying to the east of the Muong Thanh Field have been
preserved intact.
Museum of Dien
Bien Phu Victory lies opposite the cemetery
of Vietnamese martyrs in Hill
A1, the center of Dien Bien
Phu City.
The Command bunker of De Castries lies at the heart of the entrenched
camp of Dien Bien Phu in the middle of
the Muong Thanh Field.
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HOA BINH
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Mai Chau valley
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Mai Chau is located
in Hoa Binh
Province, approximately 135km
from Hanoi and 60km from Hoa Binh
Town. From the top
of Cun Mountain, one can admire the
superb panorama of Mai Chau surrounded by a green valley and stilt
houses. Many minorities, including the Thai ethnic group, live in Mai
Chau.
The Sunday market brings a lot of people
into town. People from different minorities living in the mountains come
to Mai Chau market to sell their specific products: honey, bananas, corn,
and tho cam made by skilled Thai women. The Sunday market is also
an occasion to enjoy traditional Thai dishes and to participate in
traditional dances
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HA GIANG
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Dong Van high-land
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Dong
Van Highland is situated 1,025 m above sea level and is inhabited by
the Tay and H’Mong ethnic groups. The
temperature is approximately 1oC in winter and reaches 24oC
on the hottest days. Dong Van has a lot to offer: mountains, forests,
hidden grottoes and caves, multicoloured orchid forests, plum and peach
trees, persimmon orchards, and more. Visiting Dong Van, you can see Pho
Bang, also called Pho Bang Street, which
was built a long time ago and features multi-storey houses made of clay
bricks and tile roofs. On Sundays,
one can shop in a very original mountain market where all kinds of goods
and multicoloured clothes can be purchased
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LANG SON
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Chi Lang Border
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The Chi Lang Border is located in Chi Lang
District, Lang Son Province,
and 110km from Hanoi
and 60km from the Sino-Vietnamese border. The defile consists of a valley
surrounded by high mountains and through which runs the Thuong River .
The mountains were opened in two locations to form two gates. The
northern gate was named Quy Mon Quan, meaning "monster gate,"
after the Chinese invaders who entered Vietnam through this gate.
The southern gate was called Ngo The, meaning "swearing gate."
Vietnamese ancestors who swore to sacrifice their lives to protect their
motherland and to prevent invaders from entering Vietnam via this defile built
the gates
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Tam Thanh Grottoes
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Situated near the
city of Lang Son
in Lang Son province, Tam Thanh Grottoes include three grottoes: Nhat
Thanh, Nhi Thanh, and Tam Thanh. The most famous is Tam Thanh Grotto,
lying west of Ky Lua Street. Its
door is approximately 8 m high, opening to a corridor with 30 stone
steps carved into the mountain. There are dense groves hiding the grotto
from the sun. Poet Ngo Thi Si (1726–1780) carved one of his texts on the
grotto wall while he was a Mandarin guard in Lang Son. The poem praises
the magnificent natural beauty of the area, more specifically the sound
of the water stream falling on hundreds of rocks, almost like a graceful
murmur. Vong
Phu Mountain,
meaning "waiting for a husband," is located nearby
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LAO CAI
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Hoang Yen Chao
Castle
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Hoang Yen Chao Castle is located in Na Hoi Tho
Hamlet, Bac Ha District, Lao Cai Province; 300m from Bac Ha Market. It is
a unique construction work, which harmonizes the Oriental and Western
architectural styles.
The castle was built at the beginning of the 20th
century (between 1914 and 1921). Its owner was Hoang Yen Chao of Tay
origin. He was the father of Hoang A Tuong, a tribal mandarin under the
domination of the French colonialists. The castle serves both as the
residence of Hoang Yen Chao, then Hoang A Tuong and as a fortress. Its
network of walls, bunkers, and battlements were reinforced by a mortar
mixed with sugar molasses. In a distance, the white castle jutting out
from the valley looks imposing and majestic
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Sapa
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Sapa is 38km from Lao Cai
Town, Lao Cai
Province. Sapa is a beautiful and
romantic resort town. At the height of 1,600m above sea level, the
average temperature of the area is 15-18°C. It is cool in summer and cold
in winter
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Fansipan Mountain
is located 9km south-west of
Sapa Townlet in the Hoang Lien Mountain Range. Fansipan is branded
"the Roof of Indochina" at the height of 3,143m; Fansipan is
to be approved as one of the very few eco-tourist spots of Vietnam,
with about 2,024 floral varieties and 327 faunal species
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Cat Cat Village
Cat Cat Village is 2km from
Sapa Townlet, Sapa District. This is an age-old village of H'Mong
ethnic group remaining unique customs and practices that are lots in
other villages
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NINH BINH
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Phat Diem Cathedral
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Located 130km south of Hanoi and 28km
southeast of Ninh Binh, Phat Diem Cathedral was built between 1875 and
1899 and consists of a network of ponds, lakes, churches, and artificial caves .
Phat Diem Cathedral was built in 1891 with four
roofs and six sets of iron wooden pillars. On both sides of the church
are four smaller churches of different styles. On the extreme north
corner are three stone caves. The most beautiful of these caves is Lo Duc
cave. Phuong
Dinh Church,
part of the Phat Diem complex, is a giant building entirely made of
stone. Numerous stone sculptures are on the inside and outside walls. A
large bell cast in the 1890s weighing nearly 2 tons is found in the bell
tower Phat Diem Cathedral is the center of Catholicism in north Vietnam
and also a tourist site attracting foreign and domestic visitors
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Bich Dong - Tam Coc
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Bich Dong
Pagoda is located in Ninh Hai Commune, Hoa Lu District, 11km from Ninh Binh
Town,
and can be reached by either boat or car.
Bich Dong Pagoda, built on Ngu
Nhac Mountain,
is divided into three levels: Ha Pagoda (lower pagoda), Trung Pagoda
(middle pagoda), and Thuong Pagoda (upper pagoda). On the mountain peak
stands the statue of a scholar Mandarin looking at the horizon in hope of
viewing the spectacular landscapes of Hoa Lu.
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Cuc Phuong National Park
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About 140km
south-west of Hanoi, borders with Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa
Provinces. It was officially opened in 1960
as the first national park in Vietnam.
National
Preserve of Cuc Phuong is one of the last tropical
primeval forest reserves on Earth. There are plenty of plants and mammals living in the park.
There are an estimated 2,000 different species of flora and the 450
species fauna account for 38% of the national fauna.
Cuc Phuong
National Park has a multitude of
caves, including Thang Khuyet Cave,
Con Moong
Cave, Pho Ma Cave, and Nguoi Xua Cave
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