Ngoc Le
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Showing the love: A young couple show their love of the city by wearing T-shirts printed with "I Love Ha Noi". |
HA NOI — Any visitor arriving in Ha Noi this past week was likely struck by the festive air, as if Tet (lunar new year) had arrived early.
But even Tet isn't comparable to the festivities this month in terms of scale and jubilation. Tet, after all, comes once a year, but this celebration is a once-in-a-millenium event.
A thousand years ago, King Ly Thai To relocated the capital from a hilly fortress region to the large flat land along the Red River, beginning an era in which the country flourished.
Since then, Ha Noi – then known as Thang Long, or the city of the rising dragon – has been almost continuously the capital of a thriving country.
"I've never seen the streets so beautiful and joyful like this before," said Nguyen Tien Thanh, 42, a resident of Hang Duong Street in the Old Quarter.
The Old Quarter is glorious, with a forest of flags, lanterns and banners along the streets and alleyways, a red glow enlivening an atmosphere already vivid with the array of colourful merchandise, the narrow, ageing homes, the motorbikes spilling onto the sidewalks and the streams of people. Even the cyclos look appealing, decorated with small flags bearing dragons of the Ly dynasty.
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... while two visitors don red headbands. — VNA/VNS Photos Ngoc Ha and Thanh Tung |
"I cleaned the facade and the balcony of my house to hoist the flag," said Thanh, a member of a four-generation family living together in the same house.
"At night, the streets are swarmed with people in beautiful clothes," he said, noting that the crowds were much bigger than during Tet.
Lots of Ha Noi residents want to show the world how much they love their city by wearing red bands around their heads that read "I love Ha Noi".
Ha Dong District's Nguyen Thi Thoan, 45, is one of them.
"People from Ha Noi naturally love the city," she said. "We have just 10 days to celebrate 1,000 years, so I don't want to miss them."
Hoan Kiem Lake is the focal point of all the festivities, its banks and the Tortoise Tower, The Huc Bridge and Ngoc Son Temple on the bank all colourfully illuminated, making the lake look like a sparkling jewel in the middle of the city.
Droves of revellers stream to the lake while the streets around it are closed to vehicular traffic every evening.
"A thousand years have gone by, and Ha Noi still maintains much of its antique elegance," said Pham Truong Giang, 22, a student of the University of Banking.
Giang was hanging around the lake with a group of classmates who all wore uniforms with slogans about Ha Noi.
"Its history since the reign of King Ly Cong Uan has been marked with heroic struggles against foreign invaders," Giang said. "Relics unearthed at the Thang Long Citadel testify to the talents of the Vietnamese people."
Huynh Kim Khanh, 67, who lives on Thai Ha Street and came to the lake with her children and grandchildren, said she wanted to show them the beauty and history of Ha Noi since her family members had been living abroad.
"The city has changed a lot," Khanh said. "In the past, we didn't have beautiful lighting like that."
Truong Thi Ngat, 55, and her two sisters had to travel all the way from Bac Ninh Province's Yen Phong District to see Ha Noi for themselves during its millennial anniversary.
"We will stay here until the celebrations are over, then we have to go home to harvest rice" she said, adding that this was her first visit to the capital city in 10 years.
Among foreign visitors to the city who were caught up in the festive atmosphere, Tobie Andersen, a Briton who works in Singapore, said he came to Ha Noi to visit his girlfriend's family and to "celebrate the birthday" of the city. He said that he felt a lot of energy in the celebration and that he has learned a lot about the city's history.
Apart from Hoan Kiem Lake, at scattered corners and intersections around the city, outdoor stages have been set up, and songs celebrating Ha Noi resound over loudspeakers in many neighbourhoods.
Thousands of visitors have flocked to Thang Long Citadel, which recently received a World Cultural Heritage designation, and the nearby excavation site to admire the treasured relics of past dynasties.
"I'm so proud of the depth of the nation's history," said Tran Phong, from the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta city of Can Tho.
The number of southern tourists to the capital has increased by 30 per cent compared to last month, said Tran Phi Nhan, deputy director of Viet Nam Travel, who led around 100 guests from HCM City to the citadel.
"They are eager to come to the capital on this occasion," he said. — VNS