The 'Forbidden City' hidden in Hanoi, an easily overlooked minor world heritage site

Hanoi, although most of the time serving as a transit point, actually has a lot to offer in the city area, even hiding a world heritage site that is often overlooked by many, which is the Thang Long Imperial Citadel. Although it is known as the Hanoi Imperial Palace, its scale is far too small compared to our Forbidden City, and its integrity is not as good as the Hue Imperial City in Vietnam itself. Personally, I feel it is more of a world heritage site of the ruins type. The Thang Long Imperial Citadel was built during the 11th century during the Ly Dynasty period, which was the first time the land of Hanoi became the capital and is considered by the Vietnamese as one of the symbols of independence from the Central Plains dynasty. Although the Thang Long Imperial Citadel was built by the Ly Dynasty, it has been modified to different extents by the Tran Dynasty, the Later Le Dynasty, and finally the Nguyen Dynasty, as well as the destruction and reconstruction by the French at the end of the 19th century. What we see today is vastly different from the original Thang Long Imperial Citadel, with ancient Vietnamese architecture coexisting with French architecture within the citadel, looking quite mismatched and out of place. Upon entering the Thang Long Imperial Citadel, the first thing you see is the majestic Doan Mon gate, with five arched entrances, rebuilt during the Gia Long era of the Nguyen Dynasty. At that time, the center of the Nguyen Dynasty was in Hue, so the buildings reconstructed in the Thang Long Imperial Citadel were all reduced in height and scale. There is a small path that allows you to climb to the second floor of the gate, and the yellow building on the gate was rebuilt during the French colonial era. From atop the gate, you can see a tall flag tower on one side, which was built by the Nguyen Dynasty in 1812 and used as a military outpost during the French colonial period, and on the other side is a French-style building, which once served as the command center for the General Staff against the Americans. The square in front of the building is currently being excavated, and you can see the archaeological pits. Continuing past the Doan Mon gate, you will find a series of yellow colonial buildings, mostly converted into museums, displaying a wealth of artifacts unearthed from the site, such as plain bricks, decorative tiles, tube tiles, eave tiles, ironwood columns, court utensils, Vietnamese ceramics from various periods, Chinese ceramics, Japanese Hizen ceramics... What impressed me were some architectural components such as dragon and bird head components, which are quite exquisite, and there are also many bricks and stones with Chinese characters, such as 'Jiangxi Army' (Tang Dynasty), 'Dai Viet Quoc Ginh Thanh Brick' (Dinh, Early Le), 'Li Jia Di San Di Long Rui Tai Ping Si Nian Zao' (1057), etc. These unearthed artifacts have more or less connections with China, but still show the characteristics of Vietnam itself, many shapes and decorations are indeed not seen in China. On one side of these colonial buildings, there is a high platform surrounded by huge palace murals, which is said to be the 'Kinh Thien Palace', the center of the former imperial palace, and is now estimated to be under reconstruction. What is worth seeing on the platform are the giant dragon carvings on the steps, with various intricate patterns that are not common in Vietnam, but are more common in China. Apart from the ancient buildings and museums, the Thang Long Imperial Citadel was also once the center of military power for the Viet Cong. To this day, the citadel still retains the military command rooms, underground bunkers, etc., from that time. For example, the entrance in the corner of the building leads down to a deep underground, and the entrance to the staircase is isolated by a thick metal door. According to the introduction, this is an underground bunker used during the resistance against the Americans, which is quite a time-travel experience. The furthest north you can walk inside the Thang Long Imperial Citadel is the Hau Lau, which looks like an old Vietnamese building but was also rebuilt during the French colonial period. The exterior is still attractive, and you can climb up through the narrow corridors, but the upstairs is actually empty. Exiting from the west side of the Thang Long Imperial Citadel, there is a large area of ruins, known as the 18 Hoang Dieu Street Archaeological Site. The area is quite large, but it is simply displayed there, not very interesting, and feels purely for the sake of heritage application, which can be directly ignored if time is not sufficient. 🏞️Name | Thang Long Imperial Citadel 🎫Ticket | 30,000 Vietnamese dong ⛳Address | Hoang Dieu Street 19C, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi