Hanoi Destination Information

Brief history:
The area around modern Hanoi has been inhabited for at least 3000 years BC. One of the first known permanent settlements is the Co Loa citadel founded around 200 BC.
Through history, Hanoi was known by many names. During Chinese domination of Vietnam, it was known as Long Biên, Tống Bình and later Long Đỗ. In 866, it was turned into a citadel and was named Đại La.
In 1010, Lý Thái Tổ, the first ruler of the Lý Dynasty (Triều Lý), moved the capital of Đại Việt (the Great Viet, then the name of Vietnam) to the site of the Đại La Citadel. Claiming to have seen a dragon ascending the Red River, he renamed it Thăng Long (Ascending dragon)—a name still used poetically to this day. It remained the capital of Vietnam until 1397, when the capital was moved to Thanh Hóa, also known as Tây Đô (Western Capital). Thăng Long then became Đông Đô (Eastern Capital).
In 1408, Vietnam was invaded by Chinese troops from the Ming Dynasty and Đông Đô was renamed Đông Quan (Eastern Gateway) by the Chinese. In 1428, Vietnam was liberated from Chinese rule by Lê Lợi, the founder of the Le Dynasty (Triều Lê ) and Dông Quan was renamed Đông Kinh (Eastern Capital—the name known to Europeans as Tonkin; and the same characters used for Tokyo). During the Tây Son Dynasty, it was named Bắc Thành (Northern Citadel).
In 1802, when the Nguyễn Dynasty (Triều Nguyễn) was established and then moved the capital down to present-day Huế, it was renamed Thăng Long. However, the second syllable of the toponym is actually a homonym of the word long, and so, actually suggests "to flourish" as opposed to "dragon". Therefore the name would be translated roughly to to ascend and flourish. In 1831 the Nguyen Dynasty renamed it Hà Nội (which can be translated as around the bend of the river or River Interior) . Hanoi was occupied by the French in 1873 and passed to them ten years later. It became the capital of French Indochina after 1887.
The city was occupied by the Japanese in 1940, and liberated in 1945, when it became the seat of Vietnam's government. From late 1946 to early 1947, it was the scene of heavy fighting between the French and Viet Minh forces. At that point, the city became the capital of an independent North Vietnam.
During the Vietnam War Hanoi's transportation facilities were disrupted by the bombing of bridges and railways, which were, however, promptly repaired. Following the end of the war, Hanoi became the capital of all Vietnam when North and South Vietnam were reunited on July 2, 1976.
In 2004, during site surveys for construction of a new parliament house, the remnant of a massive 900 years old citadel was discovered in central Hanoi, near the site of Ba Dinh square.

Place of interest:
- Sword lake and water puppet show
- West lake and Tran Quoc pagoda, Quan Thanh temple
- Temple of literature
- Museum of ethnology
- The Old quarter