The Old Quarter is located north of Hoan Kiem Lake. In the past, each street used to be dedicated to one commercial activity. That is why a lot of streets name begin with the word Hang, meaning merchandise, followed by a word indicating a product or profession. For example, Hang Dao (Peach St.) or Hang Duong (Sugar St.).

Close to Dong Xuan Market is Hang Ma (Paper St.) where traditional votive products made of coloured paper are sold. Every year, on the occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival (15th day of the 8th lunar month), Hang Ma St. turns into a toy market. Another very typical street is Hang Thiec (tin products), where the deafening sound of hammers striking tin plates can be heard all day long.

During the Le Dynasty (15"' century), many Chinese were allowed to reside in Thang Long. They chose to settle on Hang Ngang St. At this period, there were gates at the two ends of the street, hence the name Ngang, meaning horizontal barrier

After two years of construction, President Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum was officially inaugurated on 29 August 1975. This project was the result of a close collaboration between engineers from Vietnam and the former Soviet Union in order to keep the remains of President Ho Chi Minh, a great patriot who was later conferred the title of "World Cultural Activist" in 1990 on the occasion of his centenary birthday.

The mausoleum is divided into three floors. The first floor is a terraced stand exclusively used for grand meetings organised at Ba Dinh Square. The second floor is the centre of the mausoleum, where the remains of the president are kept in a chamber, accessible through a series of passages and flights of marble stairs. The upper floor is the roof. The facade of the upper floor bears the inscription "President Ho Chi Minh" in dark violet, precious stone The mausoleum is open to the public on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. In summer, it is open from 7.30am to 10.30 am; in winter, from Sam to 11am. The hours are extended by 30 minutes on Sundays and holidays. The Mausoleum is usually closed from September 5 to December 10 for maintenance. Photography is not allowed inside the mausoleum

Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam is a famous historical and cultural relic consisting of the Temple of Literature and Vietnam's first university.

The Temple of Literature was built in 1070 in honour of Confucius, his followers, and

Chu Van An, a moral figure in Vietnamese education.

Quoc Tu Giam, or Vietnam's first university, was built in 1076. It was the first educational school for royal family members, and it was later opened to talented students. Throughout its more than 700 years of activity, thousands of Vietnamese scholars graduated from this university. In 1482, Emperor Le Thanh Tong ordered the erection of stelae with inscriptions of the names, places of birth, and achievements of the graduates who had taken examinations since 1442 to 1779. Presently, 82 stelae stand at Van Mieu.

In 1483 Quoc Tu Giam was changed into Thai Hoc Vien (Higher Educational Institute). After decades of war and natural disasters, the former construction was completely destroyed. In preparation for the celebration of the 1000'^ anniversary of Thang Long (present day Hanoi) another construction has been built following the model of the previous Thai Hoc Vien on the same ground. The work started on July 13, 1999, including the front hall, the back sanctuary, lean-tos on the left and on the right, the courtyard, and subsidiary structures. Phase 1 was completed on October 10, 2002, the day of celebration of the liberation of Hanoi. As a result of an area of 1,530m2 has been put into use.

This site preserves historical vestiges of a 1,000-year-old civilization such as statues of Confucius and his disciples (Yan Hui, Zengshen, Zisi, Mencius), and ancient constructions such as Khue Van Pavilion, and Worshipping Hall.

Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam is located on Van Mieu Street, 2km west of Hoan Kiem Lake. It is open Tuesday to Sunday from 8am to 11.30 am and 1.30pm to 5pm.

The three ancient Chinese characters at the top of the entrance of Quan Thanh Temple read "Tran Vu Quan", which means that the temple is dedicated to Huyen Thien Tran Vu, the God who guarded and administered the north of the country. Saint Tran Vu was both a Vietnamese legendary character (who assisted Emperor An Duong Vuong in chasing away ghosts during the construction of Co Loa Citadel) and a Chinese legendary character (who guarded and administred the North).

Quan Thanh Temple was built during the reign of Emperor Ly Thai To (1010-1028). Special attention should be paid to the black bronze statue of Saint Tran Vu, nearly 4 m in height and 4 tons in weight, was casted in 1677 located in the main hall. Also noticeable, a 1.5m high ancient bronze bell hangs at the top of the three-gate entrance. In the temple, a small black bronze statue of Old Trong, the chief artisan of the bronze casting team who made the bell and the giant statue of Saint Tran Vu. To commemorate the great contributions of their teacher, Old Trong's students cast his statue and placed it in the temple so that future generations would remember him.

The Temple is located at the southern end of Duong Thanh Nien (Youth Road), near the intersection of Quan Thanh St. and Duong Thanh Nien, 2km west of Hoan Kiem Lake. It is open daily

Locaied on Nguyen Van Huyen Road in Cau Giay District, west of Hanoi, the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology opened at the end of 1997. Since then, it has attracted the attention of visitors as well as ethnographers and researchers from all over the world.

It contains more than 10,000 objects, 15,000 black and white photos and hundreds of video tapes and cassettes which depict all aspects of life, activities, customs, -and habits of the 54 ethnic groups of Vietnam. The Ethnological Museum has successfully recreated the daily life together with the religious rituals and the symbolic festivals of each ethnic group in Vietnam. Visitors have the opportunity to admire costumes, embroidery as well as outside stilt houses and habitats from the different groups.

All displayed objects mingle and supplement one another to create a colourful and diversified picture of Vietnamese culture.

An open-air exhibition in the museum's spacious and peaceful ground features ethnic houses from all over Vietnam.

The displayed object area is divided into 9 parts:

• Introduction

• Introduction of Viet (Kinh)

• Introduction of Muong, Tho, Chut ethnic groups

•The ethnic groups belong to the Tay, Thai, and Ka Dai Groups

• The ethnic groups belong to the H'Mong-Dao Group, Tang Group and San Diu, Ngai ethnic Groups.

•The ethnic groups belong to the Mon-Khmer Group

• The ethnic groups belong to the Nam Dao

• The ethnic groups: Cham, Hoa, Khmer

• Exchange and mingle between the ethnic groups

It is open from 8.30am to 5.30pm, closes Monday and Tet holiday.