To extract lotus essence is really an art and it can be said that nothing is more romantic and purer than “catching” the lotus fragrance. In early morning, when everything is just waking, so pure and anew, it’s time to pick lotus flowers from the lake. Over one night sleeping amid the natural environment with cool dews and fresh wind, the fragile petals seem to hold the whole pure essence of the earth. Soon after, the petals are separated, showing the stamen. Around the stamen there are bright yellow filements, at the ends of which are little white anthers which provide the special alluring fragrance of this species of flower. Under gentle and skilful hands, the anthers are separated and used to extract a special perfume and scent the tea, turning out a special product, i.e. lotus scented tea. It is hard to find another flower with a fragrance that is more attracting than that of lotus.

A lot of secrets about the Vietnamese people’s good health and beauty can be related to lotus flowers. In the old days in the royal palaces, the king’s beloved concubines were often presented with a lotus bath. After one night, the morning dew that lingered on the lotus leaves was carefully collected as water for the bath. Lotus flowers are not only a luring bouquet, but also have a direct effect to man’s nervous system. Many doctors said that a small cup of tea made from lotus sprouts (green sprouts lying in the centre of the lotus seed) would be a super effective tranquillizer.

It’s really hard to fully evaluate the pure beauty of lotus flower, which has become so familiar with many Vietnamese people. Wherever they might go, when seeing lotus flowers, they think of their native homeland and memories about this special flower return to their mind. A symbol of culture, spirit and elegant personality of the Vietnamese, the lotus flower is really worthy of that.

Source: vnanet.vn

Lang Pagoda, also called Chieu Thien Pagoda, is located on the land of the old Lang Village (present-day Lang Thuong Ward, Dong Da District, Hanoi), 6km west of the city centre. The Pagoda was built in the 12th century under King Ly Anh Tong’s Dynasty (1138-1175) to worship Buddha, King Ly Than Tong (who reigned from 1128 to 1138) and Buddhist monk Tu Dao Hanh – a famous monk during the Ly Dynasty.

Lang Pagoda is a large harmonious symmetrical architectural complex with an airy space and has 100 compartments. It was once considered the first pagoda in the west of Thang Long Imperial City.

The Pagoda has a three-door gate, large brick-paved path, an octagonal house, the main part of the pagoda, a bell house, a guest house, an ancestor-worshiping house, a mother-worshiping house and a garden of tomb towers. There are a couple of unique stone dragons on the two sides of the stairs leading to the forecourt. The stone stele erected in 1656 was carved with the image of two fairies with their wings spread.

Every year, on the 7th of lunar March (the birthday of Monk Tu Dao Hanh), the Lang Pagoda’s Festival is held jubilantly with traditional unique rites imbued with cultural features of the old Thang Long Citadel.

Source: vnanet.vn

Ngũ Xã village is located on the side of Trúc Bạch Lake in Ba Đình District nowadays, and it is known as the craft village with traditional bronze casting profession.

Legend has it that Zen Buddhist Grand Monk named Không Lộ who lived in the Lý Dynasty (1009-1225) was progenitor of the profession. He took best workers of five villages from the original Kinh Bắc area (Bắc Ninh Province today) to Thăng Long to establish a copper casting village called Ngũ Tràng Xã.

Since the 17th century, Ngũ Xã Village has become famous with many domestic appliances such as boilers, trays, and basins. Other famous products made by Ngũ Xã Village include Buddha statues, bells, incense burners, among which the greatest work is the bronze statue of Trấn Vũ God in the Quán Thánh Temple in Hà Nội.

In the 19th century, there were 90% of households in the village which ran the same copper casting job with some sophisticated technologies and know-how handed down from generation to generation.

Through many ups and downs of history, Ngũ Xã Village still preserves the traditional profession. Many high quality fine art products of Ngũ Xã have been exported, and many art works by famous artists have been made in the village.

Source: vietnam.gov.vn

This community includes many beautiful landscapes: Holy Mother temple halfway up the mountain, Long Tien (Long Tiên) cave with its own way leading to the top of Tram mountain (it is known as the way to Heaven by custom) and is own way leading deeply inside the mountain (known as the way to Hell by custom). There are many statues of Buddha, colossus, fairy lively carved onto stone walls. Many ancient poems carved onto stone walls, copper bells have been also preserved for ages.

The pagoda community used to be Le King and Lord Trinh (Trịnh)’s royal step-over place thanks to its elegant landscapes. Particularly, Tram pagoda is also well-known as it used to be the place where  Ho Chi Minh President announced his appeal to his fellow for resistance war via broadcasting coverage of Vietnam in 1947.

From Tram mountain’s top, panorama of So Sở land and neighboring landscapes such as Vo Vi (Vô Vi) pagoda, “Trăm Gian” (one-hundred-compartment) pagoda can be viewed

Source: simplevietnam.com

The official name is Thánh Ðức Tự (Pagoda of Holy Virtue). The pagoda was built in the 11th century during the reign of Lý Nhân Tông King.

At first, it was a small pagoda managed by Priest Từ Ðạo Hạnh. The pagoda was initially built according to Sino-Vietnamese character Tam—this character is formed by 3 hyphens parallel to each other. The pagoda therefore consists of 3 sections: Hạ Pagoda, Trung Pagoda, and Thượng Pagoda. The outer part, Hạ Pagoda, is a place for offerings and ceremonies; the middle part, Trung Pagoda, is a place for worship of Buddha; and finally, the inner part is a place for worship of Priest Từ Ðạo Hạnh.

An automated sandalwood statue of Từ Ðạo Hạnh that stands and sits is located in a red lacquered shrine trimmed with gold and covered with a curtain.

  Source: oldcottage.net

As the legend says, Linh Lang was a son of Long Quan. He was reincarnated to be the fourth prince of King Ly Thanh Tong (1054-1072). When he was born, he had a nice appearance with big eyes, beautiful eyebrows, a square jaw, and a robust body. On that day the weather was fine with fresh air and fragrant breezes. When the Song enemy, led by Huang Youngzheng, invaded the country with an earth-shaking force, the King had to send an envoy to look for heroes to save the country. Linh Lang asked the court to provide a herd of elephants and a large 10m-handled flag for him to fight the enemy. When the biggest elephant saw him, it prostrated itself to salute him (later the people built a temple here and named it Voi Phuc, or Prostrating Elephant).

The Vietnamese people celebrate the day when Genie Linh Lang became a snake on lunar February 2, with the Tran Tay Festival, the biggest in Thang Long Capital (Hanoi). On this occasion, many people from faraway provinces came to worship the Genie, because it is said that at this temple all the good that people pray for will be realized. At the festival, folk games are also held, such as cock fighting, terracotta pot breaking, duck catching, boat racing and folk song singing.

According to the eastern rules of wind and water, the Temple was built on the finest and most sacred area at one of the four gates of Thang Long Capital. It lay on a hill surrounded by the Nhi Ha River and there was a luxuriant green bamboo forest behind.

Source: clicktovietnam.com

In the past Kẻ Đợ was famous for nón quai thao (a kind of hat for women). Today it is famous for embroidery and objects of worship, such as parasols and  curtains which were invented by Lord Vu. Every year, villagers organise a festival to honour Lord Vu and a martial arts event depicting the King Phung Hung’s battle.

The Trieu Khuc wrestling arena attracts a lot of wrestlers from nearby areas such as Bắc Ninh, Gia Lam, Mai Dong and so on. The dragon dance in Trieu Khuc festival is authentic with traditional characteristics because it is said to originate from the King Phung Hung’s period. Thus, every year they invite the Trieu Khuc’s dragon dancers to perform in the Dong Da Festival.

The 12th day of first lunar month is the final day of the festival. On this day, “lễ rã đám” (a final ceremony) is held and concluded by a procession of the flag dance. This dance depicts the legend, according to which the King Phùng Hung selected the best person to drive out the enemy.

At the end of the official ceremony, people sit down on the mats and eat “lộc thánh” (the God’s food and fruit) drink wine and eat “trau” (betel). The celebration is very joyful and villagers pray for health, prosperity and a bumper harvest.

   Source: hanoiplus.vn

An Dương Vương Temple is located in Cổ Loa village, Đông Anh district, Hanoi. It is on the way to Phúc Yên and about 17 km from the center of Hanoi. Located on this land is Ngự Triều Di Quy communal house which is believed to be where the Thục King held Court. Am Bà Chúa is where people worshiped the lovely daughter of the Thục King, Mỵ Châu princess. We can now see a headless statue there, which is a vestige of the country lost by Mỵ Châu. She was so honest and credulous that she was trapped in a scheme by the enemy.

On the 6th day of the first lunar month every year, people from 12 hamlets of Cổ Loa commune organize a festival called An Dương Vương Temple Festival which lasts for 10 days. The festival begins with a procession called “văn chỉ” and “rước kiệu thành hoàng” (The Tutelary God’s Palanquin) of the 12 hamlets marching to the temple of the King. Leading the procession is a phờng bát âm (an ancient music band).

Following it are elder village notables, and the “kiệu long đình” (royal palanquin) being carried. Thượng Temple is where the ceremony is performed with five-colour flags, a couple of pink horses and a couple of white horses on the two sides, the left and the right. In the center of the altar with an incense table is placed and loaded with the offerings, a glass box containing a pair of mandarin’s boots and the King’s weapons. However, the statue of the King and his “mũ bình thiên” (King’s hat) are kept inside the altar.

After that, people of the 12 hamlets march around the Trọng Thủy well and then go back to the Ngự Triều communal house where only the palanquin of Cổ Loa is kept.

Continuing with the festival many traditional village games are held, such as đánh đu (swinging on high), đáo đĩa (coin throwing), tổ tôm (a kind of card-game) and cò bơi (swimming storks).

The festival lasts until the 16th of the lunar month and then the festival is completed by making an offering, a rite in honour of heaven and earth.

Source: (Vietnam+/hanoitourism.gov.vn)

The Vietnamese traditional dress, “Áo Dài”, is one of the most elegant and beautiful dresses for women. It’s very simple, consisting of a close-fitting blouse, with long panels in the front and back, that is worn over loose white trousers.

An Áo Dài can be worn with a Nón (conical hat) or a turban of the same color. I wish I could bring a Nón (conical hat) with me more often when traveling abroad, but it would require a great care, as this kind of hat is very soft and easily deformed. Certainly, a photo with a conical hat would have made the essential photo of a Vietnamese girl abroad.

Every girl in Vietnam has at least one Áo Dài, as it’s not expensive to make. Whenever we wear Áo Dài, because of the long trousers, high heel sandals or shoes are necessary, it makes the girls look taller. The traditional color of trousers is white, but now many colors are acceptable. The Áo Dài is worn on such special occasions like engagement or wedding ceremonies, contract signing ceremonies or any special event. Áo Dài is used as an uniform at some offices, airlines or shops etc., and the white Áo Dài is also the uniform of Vietnamese school girls. You will see this uniform more often in southern Vietnam, where the weather is warm throughout the year. In northern Vietnam, its cold in the winter, so this uniform is not always suitable.

Source: travelblog.org

Exhibits are displayed on two floors which cover an area of more than 2,000 metres. The first section contains relics from prehistoric times discovered at different sites throughout the country and dating mainly from the Paleolithic and the Neolithic eras. The second introduces the initial period of national construction and defence and includes many rare and valuable exhibits, including ancient rock carvings and Đông Sơn bronze drums. The third section focuses on the 1st-10th centuries CE, reflecting the Vietnamese people’s struggle for independence against the Chinese and including important collections of ceramic, porcelain and woven cloth articles. The fourth section traces the development of the feudal system under the Đinh (968-980) and Anterior Lê (980-1009) dynasties, the fifth focuses on the Lý and Trần dynasties (1010-1400) and their great battles against Song and Yuan invaders, the sixth and seventh on the Lê and Mạc dynasties (1427-1788) and the eighth section on the Tây Sơn period (1778-1802). The ninth section presents the history of the Nguyễn dynasty (1802-1945), with exhibits on the achievements of the Nguyễn kings in the fields of law, literature and history. The last section introduces the anti-French movement and the August Revolution of 1945 through photographs of patriotic scholars such as Phan Đình Phùng, Hoàng Hoa Thám and Nguyễn Hữu Huân and the events of 2 September at Ba Đình Square where President Hồ Chí Minh read out the Declaration of Independence, bringing about the birth of the Democratic Republic of Việt Nam.

In addition, the museum houses 50 stone-engraved statues and bas-reliefs from Champa dating from the 7th to the 13th centuries. The art and cultures of several Asian countries including China, Japan and Thailand are also introduced. There are also some 100 artefacts on display in the grounds of the museum, including Chăm statues and stelae and art works from the Lý, Trần, Lê and Nguyễn periods. Each year the Việt Nam Museum of History receives between 120,000 and 150,000 domestic and foreign visitors and is also an important centre for research into the history of Việt Nam. The Việt Nam History Museum administers a small heritage library.

  Source: culturalprofiles.net