Hanoi

In 1010 Emperor Ly Thai To founded his capital, which he christened 'Rising Dragon', on the banks of the Red River. Almost a millennium later, Hanoi remains Vietnam's political centre, its crowded streets lined with reminders of its long and tumultuous history. You'll find the Temple of Literature, a bastion of Confucian scholarship founded in 1015; an Old Quarter of winding alleys, crowded markets and traditional shop-houses; tree-lined avenues flanked by imposing French colonial villas; and the Soviet-style mausoleum built in honour of the man who led the country to independence, Ho Chi Minh.
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