Hoan Kiem Lake
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| Hoan Kiem Lake |
If you are about to visit Ha Noi for a few days, or you
want to introduce about Hoan Kiem lake for visiters, you will want to know
something about Hoan Kiem Lake, right? The lake is considered the center of Ha
Noi, not only physically but also symbolically. In fact, the more you spend time
learning about the lake, the more special it becomes.
Legends
The tale goes that Le Loi King came across a shining
metal bar when he visited his friend. It turned out that his friend caught the
bar in one of his attempts for fish. The King asked for the bar, brought it home
and moulded it into a sword. All of a sudden, there was two words printed on the
sword “Thuan Thien” (harmonious with heaven).
Le Loi then understood that the sword was a gift from
heaven. He used it for the battle against the war with a neighbouring country.
At the beginning of 1428, when peace prevailed, on one of his trip to the Thuy
Quan (now Hoan Kiem) Lake, there was a tortoise rising above water and shouting:
“Please return the sword to the Dragon King”. Without hesitation, the King threw
the sword to the lake. The tortoise took the sword and dove down the water. From
then on, Thuy Quan became Hoan Kiem lake.
About the
lake
The lake is not only special in her history. The water
color of Hoan Kiem Lake is not commonly found in other lakes elsewhere in the
country: greenish, with dark or light shade depending on the reflection of the
sky. The lake is full of tortoise, which is second to none to be found among
Vietnamese lakes. If you are lucky, you will catch sight of these giant animals
rising out of water. And because tortoise is considered a sacred animal in
Vietnam's culture (along with dragon, phoenix and unicorn), Hoan Kiem Lake then
become a holy place that nurtures tortoise.
Before and even after Hanoi's massive expansion in 2009,
Hoan Kiem lake is still a pride of all Hanoians and the center for any distance
measurement. Nowadays, it’s still a gathering place yet new Hanoians may live
too far to count their distance to the lake. Still, as you walk by, you will be
able to witness the pace of life in this peculiar city.
Activities
If you can wake up early in the morning, at about 5 a.m.,
you will see lines and lines of oldies and teenagers doing anything from yoga to
tai-chi to aerobics. It looks as if the whole city was up and running for
morning exercise. They work out in group or by themselves, with or without
equipment. In the course of one of the high profiled meetings in Ha Noi an
Australian prime minister also joined the early jogging around the
lake.
In the afternoon to the South end you can see a matrix of
motorbikes twisting along the lake. Blending in is a gang of “cyclo” – the
famous three-wheeled carriers that take tourists with cameras handy around. To
the North end where the old quarters lies, an influx of colourful clothes and
shoes will dazzle you, together with the smell of trees and coffees.
When darkness takes over, you can see couples holding
hands walking side by side along the lake, trying to breathe in the breeze of
summer night or keep warmth against the winter cold. If you have time and really
want to observe Hanoi’s life, sit down on one of the stone bench, enjoy the view
and have a good talk with some local friends over an ice-cream cone.
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