by Ha Nguyen
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Light show: Thap Rua (Turtle Tower) is more sparkling and fanciful these day to welcome the city's 1,000th anniversary. — VNA/VNS Photo Doan Tung |
The clock is continuing to count down to the grand ceremony for Ha Noi's 1,000th anniversary on October 10, and the city is bustling with animation, colourful lights and symbols of the city's history.
Many people in Ha Noi want to soak up the rare atmosphere of the celebration and capture memories of the event in their photos, while others are rediscovering their love for the city by wandering around it by night.
"Hoan Kiem Lake is sparkling with LED lights, and the Turtle Tower is more fanciful during the night," said Ha Huu Vu from Ha Noi's Hai Ba Trung District. Vu and his friends made a tour through a night in the capital city on Saturday.
Vu's friend Quoc Viet sat on a stool drinking iced tea from a sidewalk tea vendor and talking with others, a long-standing pleasure of Ha Noi.
"Sitting on the sidewalk and talking to your friends is a young person's pleasure, too," said Viet. "I like to sit here and enjoy the city life and the simple sounds of the local people."
Vu's other friends Quang Thang and Dinh Hung decided to join a music night that praised Ha Noi through 40 well-known singers of the revolutionary music.
" Although hearing time and again, we are still interested in songs about Ha Noi's history and its profound beauty as well as the elegant lifestyle of the capital's residents," said Thang.
Meanwhile their other friend Huy Hung led a group of five to the Long Bien Bridge, which has long become a symbol of the city and has been lit up like a dragon across the Hong (Red) River. At night, drink and snack vendors set up shop along the length of the bridge.
"When we arrived, a crowd of people was already there enjoying the river even though it was 1am," said Hung.
At 2am, Vu and his friends returned to the inner city to eat nem chua ran (fried fermented-pork) and hot bun rieu cua (spicy noodles with crayfish) on Tong Duy Tan Street, which also known as "Food Street". The street was also bustling at this late hour, with people jostling to park their motorbikes and piling into shops for the delicious dishes.
Continuing their night odyssey, Vu's group drove their motorbikes past Tran Vu Temple near West Lake and then on to the ancient citadel of Hoang Thanh at the intersection of Phan Dinh Phung and Nguyen Tri Phuong streets. They also drove up O Quan Chuong, Cua Nam and Cua Bac streets.
"We are really impressed by the light decorations on Dien Bien Phu Street which represent 1,000 years of the nation's civilisation, with images of harps, bronze drums and the bamboo of Saint Giong, down to the time of Ho Chi Minh and a capital city of peace, with pigeons flying," said Vu. — VNS