WORDS ON THE STREET 70th anniversary of Hanoi's Liberation Day Vietnam - Asia 2023 Smart City Summit Hanoi celebrates 15 years of administrative boundary adjustment 12th Vietnam-France decentrialized cooperation conference 31st Sea Games - Vietnam 2021 Covid-19 Pandemic
Home / My HaNoi / History
Hanoi's Old Quarter – A museum of ancient urban life
Thanh Dat 11:10, 2020/12/22
The history of establishment and development of "Thang Long - Hanoi is preserved in Hanoi`s Old Quarter.
Today, not only Vietnamese people but also international visitors are interested in Hanoi's Old Quarter and considered it as a cultural heritage, representative of Hanoi, the  capital city with thousand years of civilization.
Situated next to Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi's Old Quarter includes 76 streets, limited by  Hang Dau street to the north; Phung Hung street to the west; Hang Bong, Hang Gai, Cau Go and Hang Thung streets to the south; Tran Quang Khai and Tran Nhat Duat streets to the east.
Hanoi’s Old Quarter is the hub of the country's culinary art.
Hanoi’s Old Quarter is the hub of the country's culinary art.
Hanoi's Old Quarter was established in the early 15th century. During the Le dynasty  in the early 16th century, people came to  Thang Long from outlying areas for trading and gradually settled in what is now the Old Quarter. Thang Long under the Le dynasty had 36 guilds and to the Nguyen time, it had hundreds of guilds, villages and camps.
 “Ke Cho” which   Thang Long - Hanoi was once called, had a citadel, a town, a wharf, trade and craft guilds, suburban markets, villages specializing in farming and processing agricultural products. People from surrounding villages settled and worked in Thang Long – Hanoi. Traders and craftsmen gathered in guilds. Each guild filled a street, reflecting today in the names of the streets such as Hang Thiec (the guild of metal workers), Hang Ma (the guild of votive paper makers), Hang Can (guild of weight makers), Hang Bac (the guild of goldsmith), Hang Chieu (the guild of mattress makers), etc.
Hanoi’s Old Quarter is an architectural complex featuring the vertical small space from streets to houses, especially the tile roofs of unequal height with traditional decorative motifs of Vietnam. All of them constitute an typical landscape architecture of an ancient city in the traditional architecture of the North Delta, the cradle of Vietnamese culture. This is also typical of an ancient Asian city.
 In the process of construction and development, Hanoi's Old Quarter is a place of concentrated and mixed inhabitation, cultural exchange among regions in the country and with other countries. The presence of Chinese congregations, the Great church, mosque, the Dutch and British shops, etc is the tangible evidence of this value.
With 1000 years of establishment and development, the Old Quarter is an important proof for the development history of the Thang Long capital and bears many valuable cultural treasures. These are the cultural heritages   in need of preservation   such as festivals, traditional cultural activities like ca tru singing, cheo singing, etc.
Hanoi’s Old Quarter is the hub of the country's culinary art with tasty traditional delicacies from taste, color, shape to cooking performance. The beauty of traditional culture has made the famous ancient elegance of the capital residents.
Together with the ancient town of Hoi An, Hanoi's Old Quarter is said to be the “museum of ancient urban life” of Vietnam.

 
Other news
06:47, 2024/11/20
Important archaeological finds unearthed on Hanoi's outskirts
The Vuon Chuoi site, a major Bronze Age archaeological site in northern Vietnam, is a residential and burial site dating from the Pre-Dong Son to Dong Son period (4,000-2,000 BC).
15:06, 2024/10/12
Hanoi celebrates liberation day in jubilation
The Party expedited the capture of Hanoi to protect against the French colonialists' plan to exploit the transition to undermine the cultural and economic infrastructure.
15:14, 2024/10/11
In memory of Hanoi: Resistance youth turn prisons into revolutionary schools
The harsh prison regime, with its cruel tortures, could not break the will and patriotism of the communist fighters.
22:16, 2024/10/10
70 years after Hanoi Liberation: Remembering Victory Day
With a spirit of patriotism, intelligence, and youthful dynamism, thousands of Hanoi students took up arms in the fight against French colonialism.
15:44, 2024/10/10
Historical relics in connection with capital's defense and liberation
Hanoi's history, especially the events surrounding the liberation of the capital 70 years ago, is reflected in many of the city's tourist attractions.
21:29, 2024/10/09
Hanoi teacher with determination to protect the capital
In the atmosphere of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the capital, Meritorious Teacher Nguyen Tien Ha recalled the years when he participated in the Hoang Dieu National Salvation Youth Union and was actively involved in revolutionary activities in the capital.