As the capital of Vietnam for almost a thousand years (October 2010 marked 1000 years since the establishment of the city), Hanoi is considered one of the main cultural centres of Vietnam, where most Vietnamese dynasties have left their imprint. Even though some relics have not survived through wars and time, there are still plenty of interesting cultural and historic monuments to take in: the Temple of Literature, the One Pillar Pagoda, Museum of Ethnology and the Women's museum, the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum - as a sign of their great love for Uncle Ho, the people ignored his request to be cremated and instead embalmed him. They continue to send him off to Russia once a year to top up the embalming process, and so is with his people always.
Even when the nation's capital moved to Huế under the Nguyễn Dynasty in 1802, the city of Hanoi continued to flourish, especially after the French took control in 1888 and modeled the city's architecture to their tastes, lending an important aesthetic to the city's rich stylistic heritage.
I think I expected Ha Noi to be more French. But apart from the architecture and the french bread, a lot of the frenchiness has disappeared. This is probably a good thing. Setting to one side my own desperado desires for all things French, the French approach to colonising left a lot to be desired and Ha Noi is right to reclaim its own flavour and cultural heritage.
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