Going to Thang Long Imperial Citadel and Hoa Lo Prison in the evening or cycling to visit four towns are experiences unlike traditional tours.
If the weekend has no schedule and is bored with basic experiences such as coffee or snacks, walking the streets, you and your family can join history discovery tours in Hanoi. These are experiences in new forms, for those who are interested in history or simply want to understand more about the capital.
Imperial Citadel Thang Long Citadel becomes both magical and more brilliant at night when the lighting system starts to turn on. Photo: Pham Chieu
If you are an enthusiast of puzzle games and like mysterious and thrilling experiences, the Thang Long Citadel is the right choice.
Thang Long Imperial Citadel is located in the heart of Hanoi, on the two most beautiful streets of the capital, Hoang Dieu and Phan Dinh Phung. This is a world cultural heritage recognized by UNESCO in 2010.
Tour starts at dusk, and lasts 90 minutes. In order to "decode" the Imperial Citadel, visitors will be given a card to print quizzes about relics and antiquities of the Ly, Tran and Le dynasties. The journey starts from Doan Mon gate, the door leading to the Forbidden City, the king's residence and working place.
During the puzzle journey, visitors will see scenes re-enacting the king's court ceremony and ancient dances; visit archaeological artifacts; offering incense to commemorate the 12 ancestors at Kinh Thien Palace... The highlight of the journey is decoding artifacts by laser light on the ancient river. After that, you can get water from an ancient well of the Tran Dynasty (13-14 centuries), which used to be a water stream serving kings. Water originally means a source of life, but the ancient well in the Imperial Citadel, even after thousands of years, is still full, symbolizing the inexhaustible cultural source.
The details and suggestions of the night tour Decoding Thang Long Imperial Citadel will be revealed in turn at the last leg of the journey. Correct decoding, visitors have the opportunity to receive many attractive gifts from the Organizing Committee. Tour departs at 7pm every Friday and Saturday. Tour price is 200,000 VND per person.
Tour Evening Tour in Hoa Lo Prison. Photo: Ngan Duong
Exploring Hoa Lo prison in the evening is different from the daytime. The air becomes heavier, and you feel the harshness of war and the suffocation of prison. "Just standing there, I feel very suffocated, can't imagine how the soldiers have overcome in the past," said Mr. Tran Xuan Bach, a visitor to the prison.
Hoa Lo prison historical site is located on the street of the same name. The French built the prison in 1896. The prison was the place where the French colonialists imprisoned tens of thousands of patriotic soldiers as well as ordinary prisoners and foreigners. The original design of the prison to hold 450 people, but actually holds up to 2,000 people.
Visitors are provided with their own headphones to easily follow the instructions, tour in groups, lead by narrators and watch animations based on true stories with modern sound and lighting systems. . Following the narrator, the tour group began to enter the main gate of the prison, visiting places such as mass prisons, dungeons, prison yards; experience the feeling of prison escape; hearing the guillotine, opening the cell door hauntingly reappears; watch wartime animations played by real people, including a touching scene about revolutionary Nguyen Phong Sac and his wife Hoang Thi Ai...
The prison space is dark and stuffy with the glimmer of light falling down along with it. The sound, the fast-paced music will make many visitors emotional. With the form of historical exploitation by topic, up to now, the tour program has had two themes serving the public: Sacred Night 1: Shining Vietnamese spirit and Sacred Night 2: Living like flowers. Night tours take place every Friday and Saturday night. Ticket price is 299,000 VND per person.
Guests join a bicycle tour to take souvenir photos. Photo: Vietfoot Travel
Thang Long four towns are four sacred temples established to guard the four directions east, west, south and north of the ancient Thang Long citadel. Joining a cycling tour, you both learn the history and have the opportunity to go all 4 directions of Hanoi, clearly experience the blend between the ancient features of the monuments and the vibrant and modern city of the bustling city. upset.
The journey will start from Long Bien Bridge and the first destination is Dong Tran - Bach Ma Temple, also known as Bach Ma Dark Linh Tu, worshiping the god Long Do. Now Bach Ma Temple is located on Hang Buom Street, right in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. Nam Tran or Kim Lien temple located in the bustling Dong Da district is the next destination, worshiping the god Cao Son Dai Vuong. To the west is Voi Phuc temple in Ba Dinh district and to the north is Quan Thanh or Tran Vu Quan temple located near West Lake and Truc Bach, worshiping Huyen Thien Tran Vu.
After visiting the four towns, you can continue to visit the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long and see water puppetry - a type of folk art typical for Hanoi tourism. The total travel time takes about 6 hours, the total cycling distance is about 20 km. Tour price is 1.2 million VND per person. This is also a travel experience that combines exploring history and exercising at the weekend.
