Hanoi’s Stately Buildings

In my second blog in this series, I’m featuring some of Hanoi’s grand old buildings. Hanoi Presidential Palace (below and title picture) was designed by Auguste Henri Vildieu, an architect and the French architectural adjutant in Hanoi when the city was an administrative centre for the French colony of Indochina.

Completed in 1906, it was originally known as the Palace of the Governor-General of Indochina and was renamed the Presidential Palace on Vietnam’s Independence Day in 1945.

This building was intended to become President Ho Chi Minh’s official residence but he chose a traditional stilt house instead. Inspired by French architectural style, this striking mustard-coloured three-storey building has 30 rooms surrounded by a lush garden with an orchard, a long boulevard and a carp pond.

The palace is now used for official receptions and is not open to the public, although visitors can walk through the gardens. It is also part of the Ho Chi Minh complex, which has other attractions open to the public.

The Temple of Literature is a cultural and educational heritage of Vietnam and one of the most attractive historical Hanoi attractions for both visitors and locals. It is a combination of two architectural complexes: Van Mieu, a Confucian temple, and Quoc Tu Giam, the Imperial Academy which was Vietnam’s first national university.

There are five courtyards in the complex, the first of which is entered through the gates to the Temple. The second courtyard contains the Khue Van Pavilion, which is viewed as a symbol of Hanoi. The treasures of the temple and the hall of ceremonies belong to the third and fourth courtyards respectively. The fifth courtyard is where the Imperial Academy used to produce some of the finest graduates across the nation. Destroyed during the First Indochina War, these grounds have been reconstructed to show the Academy’s original layout.

In between the courtyards are the Stelae of Doctors – carved blue stone turtles with intricate messages that pay homage to talent and study. Turtles symbolise longevity and wisdom in Vietnam and many students who graduated from this university went on to perform important roles in Vietnamese society.

Temple of Literature is paradoxically both peaceful and noisy, depending on where you’re standing. It is surrounded by stone walls and there are lots of old trees on campus acting as a buffer to outside noise, but the temple is located on one of Hanoi’s busiest streets.

In common with many other buildings here, one of the first things you notice about the Hanoi Opera House is its familiar yellow, a colour favoured by both French colonial architects and the superstitious Vietnamese. The Hanoi Opera House is the biggest performing arts venue in Vietnam.

In 1901, under the instruction of French architects, Broyer and Harley and inspired by ancient Greek architectural styles and the Opéra Garnier de Paris, construction of the Hanoi Opera House began. It was a mammoth task that took 10 years to complete. It’s an outstanding piece of neo-classical French architecture featuring Gothic themes on the doors and domes with pillars, shuttered windows, balconies and a glass room. It is believed that this Opera House witnessed Vietnam’s very first exposure to Western art, specifically music and staging.

In the beginning it was a cultural centre for French and Vietnamese elite, where Vietnamese groups performed plays. Later, it was used to stage political events.

Today it is a conventional opera house where people come to enjoy classical music and opera as well as Vietnamese traditional plays and folk music. It has become a status symbol for Vietnamese artists who perform here, as it reaffirms their talent and contribution to national art.

St Joseph Cathedral, or “The Big Church” as it is known to locals, is one of the few famous structures constructed by French colonists that remained largely intact in Hanoi after two fierce wars.

The construction of St Joseph took place from 1884 to 1887 on the site of Bao Thien Pagoda near Hoan Kiem Lake. St Joseph Cathedral is said to mirror the architectural style of Notre Dame de Paris – and certainly similarities can be seen – with multiple features representing Gothic Revival architecture. It is named after Joseph, the patron saint of Vietnam.

During the French colonial period, St Joseph Cathedral became the centre of Christianity in North Vietnam. After the retreat of French colonists from the north in 1954, the cathedral was closed and not until Christmas of 1990 was it opened again for worship.

Formerly the residence of the French Governor of Tonkin, this grand building is now a guesthouse for the Vietnamese Government’s VIP visitors.

Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum is not really an old building but I’ve included it for its significance. Situated on Ba Dinh square, the mausoleum is considered to be the heart of the capital and is said to express the sincere gratitude and love of the Vietnamese people for the leader. However, these feelings are not shared by older people in the south, nor by many overseas nations. But younger Vietnamese are now largely indifferent to Ho Chi Minh.

Ho died on 2 September 1969 in Hanoi, but it was not until September 1973 that the construction of this mausoleum began. Vietnamese architects took inspiration from Lenin’s Mausoleum in Moscow when designing the Ho mausoleum. It took about two years to complete and the mausoleum was inaugurated on 29 August 1975. Since then it has become a staple on the tourist route in Hanoi, not only for the Vietnamese but also for visitors.