On December 9, 2013, Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple historical monuments and scenic spots in Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi were officially recognized as special national monuments under the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 2383/QD-TTg.
Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple historical monuments and scenic spots consist of Hoan Kiem Lake, Ngoc Son Temple and Le dynasty King Memorial.
Hoan Kiem Lake, or Sword Lake – a remnant of ancient Nhi Ha river, is a famous scenic spot of the capital.
This lake was initially named Luc Thuy Lake or Ta Vong Lake, then was renamed Hoan Kiem or Sword Lake according to the legend of Le Thai To King’s returned sword. The lake has an area of 115,511m2, bordering part of Dinh Tien Hoang street, Hang Bac ward in the North; Dinh Tien Hoang street, Ly Thai To ward in the East; Hang Khay Street, Trang Tien Ward in the South; and Le Thai To Street, Hang Trong Ward in the West. Around the lake is a stone curb, surrounded by a system of flower gardens and trees.
On the mound of land floating in the lake is a tower, where turtles lay their eggs; that is why it is called Turtle Tower (Quy Son tower). The tower is made of brick in a rectangle shape with 4 floors and 5 arch doors. At the top is a 4-layer roof.
Ngoc Son Temple is located on Pearl Island in Hoan Kiem Lake, including the following items: Gate, But (Pen) Tower, Internal Gate, Nghien (Pink Tray) Platform, The Huc Bridge, Dac Nguyet Gate, Tran Ba House, Front Hall, Middle Hall, Harem, Left and Right Houses, Meeting Hall and Rear House.
Not only being a religious monuments, Ngoc Son Temple was also the meeting place of the Association of Charity, an organization bringing together many contemporary patriotic confusians, such as Nguyen Van Sieu (1799 – 1870) AND Vu Tong Phan (1800 – 1851) to propagate the good things to the masses, organize the printing of many kinds of books like medicine books, religious texts, etc. When the French occupied Hanoi, many other associations such as Lac Thien, Tap Thien and An Lac also used Ngoc Son Temple as a base for propaganda against the French. In early years of the twentieth century, Nguyen Thuong Hien and Luong Van Can built a platform to preach bible here. Many intellectuals set up a number of organizations and publicly called for people to unite, typically Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc movement.
Le Dynasty Kings Memorial Hall in Hang Trong Ward, including items: Gate, Temple, and Le Dynasty King statue.
The Gate is made of brick with 2 large balanced-frame pillars, whose tops are in rectangular shape with four sides of tiger patterns and four corners of 4 protruded edges, followed by squares, lanterns, and shafts.
The temple is built of brick with 2 floors, 8 roofs, on the top of which is a wine bottle, forming four sides of the strip down the four corner of the upper roof. The roof strips are decorated dragon patterns and tiles. The outer surface is the pine, bamboo and apricot patterns on stone. Under the lower roof, in the corners are four large square bearing pillars, each side has two round pillars. The shafts have ditches with the dragon heads on the top.
Le Dynasty King Statue is about 1m higher than the road and garden. All the base and pillar are made of stone and divided into 3 parts. The .2m-high bronze statue is in the standing position wearing the Binh Thien hat decorated with dragon patterns. The dress also has dragon patterns and scabbard like those of a carp. The left hand of the statue is against the waist while the right-hand holds the sword. Behind the statue is the screen, divided into three sections separated by the pillars, on the shafts of which are cloud patterns.
Ngoc Son Temple and Hoan Kiem Lake area have always been preserved and maintained by the authorities and people of Hanoi as a symbol of the thousand-year-old capital’s history, culture, and scenery. The monument has great values in many aspects and becomes more and more familiar with Hanoians in particular and the people of the whole country, as well as international friends in general.
Nguyen Khac Doai
(According to the monument ranking records – Documents of Department of Cultural Heritage)