Đồng Xuân market:

 Location:

Located in Hà Nội Old Quarter, in Hoàn Kiếm District, Hà Nội. The market borders on
Hàng Khoai Street to the North, Cầu Đông Street to the South, Đồng Xuân Street to the
West, Đồng Xuân market lane to the East.

 History 

Đồng Xuân market in Hà Nội is the "descendant" of two ancient markets of the Imperial
Citadel of Thăng Long, Bạch Mã market near Bạch Mã temple (now at 76 Hàng Buồm)
and Cầu Đông market near Cầu Đông pagoda (now at 38B Hàng Buồm Street). In the
past, it was just a small market on the alluvial ground of the Tô Lịch and Red river when
it was not completely filled. In 1890, the small market meeting places were removed by
the French government, collected into an empty land in Đồng Xuân ward and established
a market with the same name. Due to the location near the river, the traffic is busy, this
place quickly became the largest trading point in Hà Nội. On February 14, 1947, Đồng
Xuân market was the place that suffered the biggest and fiercest battle of Hà Nội's army
and people in the early days of the resistance war. In 1997, the market was once again
caught on fire, causing heavy damage. Experiencing many ups and downs in history, the
market has been built and remodeled 3 times. Currently, it still has the old design but is
equipped with emergency exit doors and fire fighting equipment. This is also considered
the market with the most beautiful and widest design in Hà Nội.

 Architecture

The market consists of three floors built gradually from bottom to top with a total area of
14,000 square meters, with more than 2,000 large and small trade stalls. Not only has a
large space, the market also designs convenient aisles for customers to shop: 3 front
entrances, 3 rear entrances, 2 side entrances and many systems of stairs, elevators inside
the market.

Hà Nội Old Quarter

“Rủ nhau chơi khắp Long thành
Ba mươi sáu phố rành rành chẳng sai
Hàng Bồ, hàng Bạc, hàng Gai
Hàng Buồm, hàng Thiếc, hàng Hài, hàng Khay
Mã Vĩ, hàng Điếu, hàng Giầy
Hàng Lờ, hàng Cót, hàng Mây, hàng Đàn
Phố Mới, Phúc Kiến, hàng Ngang
Hàng Mã, hàng Mắm, hàng Than, hàng Đồng
Hàng Muối, hàng Nón, cầu Đông
Hàng Hòm, hàng Đậu, hàng Bông, hàng Bè
Hàng Thùng, hàng Bát, hàng Tre
Hàng Vôi, hàng Giấy, hàng The, hàng Gà
Quanh đi đến phố hàng Da
Trải xem hàng phố, thật là cũng xinh
Phồn hoa thứ nhất Long thành
Phố giăng mắc cửi, đường quanh bàn cờ
Người về nhớ cảnh ngẩn ngơ
Bút hoa xin chép vần thơ lưu truyền.”

The poem above wants to refer to a very famous place in the magical land that almost
everyone knows. That is the area of 36 busy and bustling Hanoi streets once, an attractive
destination for those who want to learn about the land and people of the capital.

 Location

Located in the east of Thăng Long Imperial Citadel to the Red River, concentrated
mainly in Hoàn Kiếm district, Hà Nội

 History

The Old Quarter was formed in the Lý – Trần dynasties. At this time, people from
villages around the Northern Delta gathered here to live, forming the most crowded
neighborhood in the city. The outstanding feature of Hà Nội's Old Quarter is the
concentrated craft streets in each area. The merchant ships can enter the middle of the
street to trade and exchange, making the trade streets more developed. And the product
being traded becomes the name of the street, with the word "hàng" in front, meaning that
it specializes in wholesale of that item. During the Lê Dynasty, there were some overseas
Chinese trading here, forming more Chinese streets. At that time, in the middle of Hà
Nội's Old Quarter, there were a number of lakes and ponds, the largest being Thái Cực
Lake. By the end of the 19th century, those lagoons were filled, but there are still traces
left through the places: Hà Khẩu, Giang Khẩu, Cầu Gỗ, Cầu Đông. During the French
colonial period, the old town was expanded, Indians and French also came here to trade,
forming cultural and ethnic diversity. Two small markets at that time were also cleared to
set up Đồng Xuân market, and the tram track Bờ Hồ - Thụy Khuê at that time also ran
through here... Experiencing many historical events, the old quarter of Hà Nội is still the
busiest commercial area of Hà Nội.

 Architecture
Hanoi Old Quarter is a unique architectural complex bearing the Vietnamese national
identity. Area 36 streets are part of the urban area in the overall Thăng Long citadel,
formed from the point of view of feng shui theory. Regarding the spatial boundary, many
people still compare Hà Nội Old Quarter as an isosceles triangle with the top of Hàng
Than Street, the East side is the Red River dike, the West side is Hàng Cót, Hàng Điếu,
and Hàng Da streets and the bottom is the axis Hàng Bông - Hàng Gai – Cầu Gỗ. The old
quarters, until before the French arrived, all had the same appearance: the streets lined
with chessboard-style lines, mostly bearing the names of goods produced or traded in
those places, such as: Hàng Đường, Hàng Bạc, Hàng Voi, Hàng Hòm... The streets are
separated from each other by large gates built like walls whose width occupies the road
surface, which is strictly closed at night. On both sides of the road are rows of close-knit
tubular houses, arranged in the style of "stack of matches". Most of the houses in the Old
Quarter are one-story houses, roofed with small tiles with two gable walls rising from the
roof, built up like stairs and with two pillars at the top of the roof.. . After the French
colonialists invaded Hà Nội, the planning of Hà Nội in general and the Old Quarter in
particular had many changes. Streets were paved and straightened, and the infrastructure
added drainage, sidewalks, and lighting. Some old houses were rebuilt more solidly still
following the ancient architecture. Some were built in the "Western" style, with one or
two or three floors, influenced by new building materials and European architectural
decoration. French architecture crept throughout the old town space and gradually
became a heritage of Hà Nội. Hà Nội Old Quarter from 1954 to 1985 had many changes.
Many families returning from the war zone were arranged to live together in houses in
the old quarter. From one household, now each house number has three or four
households living together, then each household develops more in the style of three, four
great streets... To meet the daily living needs of a large number of people. has given rise
to more distortions of the houses in the old town. The architecture of Hà Nội's old
townhouses is small and idyllic. In the old quarter, buyers and sellers are busy and
bustling. The roof-to-wall and wall-to-wall houses have created the attraction of Hanoi
Old Quarter architecture, thereby expressing the spirit and soul of the people here: a
lively architectural complex, attached closely tied, dependent on each other to coexist,
reproduce and develop.

Hà Nội Opera House

 Location

Hà Nội Opera House is an architectural work for performing arts located on August
Revolution Square, at 01Tràng Tiền Street, Hoàn Kiếm district, not far from Hoan Kiem
Lake and the Vietnam History Museum.
  History

The land for the construction of the Opera House was formerly a swampy area belonging
to the land of two villages of Thach Tan and Tay Luong of General Phúc Lân, Thọ
Xương District. In 1899, the city council met under the chairmanship of Richard - the Hà
Nội Ambassador to propose to the Governor General of Fourer to build the Theater. The
author of the design project are two architects Harlay and Broyer. This design has to be
revised a lot by the comments of many architects. Construction was started on June 7,
1901, under the technical supervision of urban inspector - architect Harlay - one of the
two design authors. The people in charge of construction are Mr. Travary and
Savelon.When completed with 870 seats, the Hà Nội Opera House was a very large-scale
project compared to the population of Hà Nội at that time. The theater became the center
of cultural and artistic events for the French and a few upper-class Vietnamese in Hanoi.
This is also an ideal performance venue for troupes and bands from France and Europe to
tour. Some time later, a number of performances by Vietnamese artists for charity
purposes such as donating to rescue flood areas, building a hospice... also began to be
performed here. Since 1940, many Vietnamese troupes have been able to rent out the
theater to perform. Since then, the Hà Nội Opera House is no longer a venue only for the
French. The formation of a new urban class and intellectuals has turned this place into a
cradle for many Vietnamese artistic activities.

 Architecture

The designers of the work sought to refer to the ancient Greek architecture of Corinth
combined with the style of the castle of Tuylory and the Paris Opera to create a separate
architectural block. Inside the former theater there is a large stage and a main audience
room with an area of 24x24m, leather seats, some seats upholstered in velvet. The middle
floor has many small rooms for spectators with separate tickets. The middle staircase to
the second floor is a large main hall. Side stairs and corridors on either side. Behind the
theater is an administration room, with 18 rooms for costume actors, 2 rehearsal rooms, a
library and a meeting room. In front of the second floor is a very splendid mirror room