Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple
 Hoan
Kiem Lake, or the Lake of the Restored Sword, is located directly
in the centre of Hanoi. The name is derived from a legend involving
Emperor Le Thai To, in which he came across a giant tortoise while
cruising on the lake. The tortoise took his sword that had secured
victory against the Chinese aggressors of the Minh Dynasty. The
emperor named the lake after this episode.
Every morning, the surrounding park fills with locals who arrive
to exercise and play badminton. By the way, there still are a few
tortoises who call this area home.
Hoan Kiem was already considered the most beautiful lake in Hanoi
when Ngoc Son Temple was built on a small island during the 19th
century. Saint Van Xuong, considered one of the brightest stars
of Vietnam's literature and intellectual circles, was worshipped
here. National hero Tran Hung Dao was also worshipped after he lad
the Vietnamese people to victory over both Mongolian and Chinese
invaders.
The temple as it is seen today is the result of renovations made
by Nguyen Van Sieu in 1864.
 A
great Hanoian writer, sieu had a large pen-shaped tower built at
the entrance of the temple. On the upper section of the tower are
three Chinese characters: ta thanh thien, which means that to write
on the blue sky is to imply the height of a genuine and righteous
person's determination and will.
Also at the entrance are: a dai nghien, or ink stand, carved from
stone and resembling a peach, which is placed on the back of three
frogs on top of the gate to the temple; and The Huc, or the place
where the first rays of morning sunshine touch.
On the way to the temple are several cau doi, parallel sentence
boards, placed on the wall. cau doi were part of traditional word
puzzles played by Hanoi's intellectual class.
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