West Lake – A romantic beauty in the heart of Hanoi

West Lake is one of the famous beautiful landscapes in Hanoi capital, where there are many historical and cultural relics associated with the history of formation and development of the ancient Thang Long Citadel and present-day Hanoi. The beauty of West Lake is a romantic and poetic break in the colorful picture of Hanoi, a meeting place, marking the memories of many Hanoians, a place to hold tourists every time they visit the capital of Vietnam.

West Lake is a natural lake located in the northwest of Hanoi inner city with an area of ​​about 500 hectares, the road around the lake is nearly 20 km long. Historical documents show that thousands of years ago, West Lake was a remnant of the Red River that changed its course. West Lake has the “Long phoenix wall – Phoenix moist water”, on the shore is convenient for silkworm cultivation, underwater is convenient for navigation and fishing… Therefore, during the Ly Dynasty (in 1138), Princess Tu Hoa, the son of King Ly Than Tong, left the palace and returned to the area along the West Lake to teach people to grow mulberry and raise silkworms, forming a land famous for silk production, famous throughout the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long. The kings and lords of the Ly – Tran dynasties also chose the area along the West Lake to set up palaces for sightseeing, such as: Thuy Hoa palace in the Ly dynasty, changed its name to Han Nguyen palace in the Tran dynasty and now belongs to the territory of Tran Quoc pagoda; Tu Hoa Palace of Ly Dynasty now belongs to Kim Lien Pagoda; Thuy Chuong Palace of the Le Dynasty is now located in Chu Van An High School…

Viewed from above, West Lake has the shape of a crab’s claw with the eastern corner surrounded by Thanh Nien road – the route separating West Lake and Truc Bach lake, the rest is surrounded by the mainland. West Lake is not only beautiful because of its immense blue water, bobbing and wavy all year round, but also poetic beauty by the fragrant pink color of lotus flowers, the purple color of mausoleum flowers or the brilliance of pink phoenix petals. every summer. The space around the lake always has a cool breeze that makes everyone who comes here feel relaxed. Every morning or at sunset, many people like to walk around the lake to breathe fresh air or exercise before starting a new working day or returning home. At sunset or when night falls, it is also the time when West Lake becomes a place to meet friends, a place to date, to keep memories of love for many people. Some people find themselves a corner by the lake to enjoy the wind, sip a cup of coffee in a roadside shop, enjoy the famous shrimp cake, and eat a glass of cold ice cream. There are also people who choose luxury restaurants located on the lakeside to eat while enjoying the view and enjoy the fresh breeze. With its romantic beauty, West Lake also inspires many poets, writers and musicians to create literary works with lyrical and poetic love songs.

Along the West Lake, there are also ancient villages such as Nhat Tan flower village, Quang Ba flower village, Nghi Tam kumquat village, Yen Thai do paper craft village, Ngu Xa bronze casting village… and a system of historical and cultural relics. culturally concentrated such as: Van Nien Pagoda, Tao Sach Pagoda, Kim Lien Pagoda, Quan Thanh Temple, Ba Danh Pagoda… Especially, on the peninsula and island east of West Lake, two famous monuments are Tay Ho Palace. (built around the 17th century to worship Princess Lieu Hanh – one of the four immortals of Vietnamese folk beliefs) and Tran Quoc Pagoda (built in the Early Ly Dynasty (6th century), moved and restored in During the reign of Le Trung Hung (1615) on the old foundation of the Han Nguyen Palace, it is still preserved intact, attracting a large number of domestic and foreign tourists to visit, sightsee and worship the pagoda.

Note: The areas crowded with foreigners in West Lake are Quang An and Xuan Dieu streets