In the fall of 1010, King Ly Thai To (Ly Cong Uan) moved the capital from Hoa Lu to Dai La. On the way, the king saw a vision of a golden dragon ascending from the Red river ( song Hong). The King decided to change Dai La to Thang Long (Ascending Dragon). Thang Long remained the capital city until the end of the Tran dynasty when in 1397, the capital city was moved to Thanh Hoa -Tay Do (Western Capital) and Thang Long became Dong Do (Eastern Capital).

A city of lakes, shaded boulevards and verdant public oarks. Slow paced, pleasant and charming, Ha Noi is a very attractive city.

In Ha Tay province, about 100 km outside of Hanoi, lays one of the most popular religious sites in Vietnam. The Perfume Pagoda actually consists of series of pagodas built inside grottoes. The sacred shrines are typical of Buddhist shrines found all over the world, but their unique context and importance to Vietnamese Buddhists who show up in the springtime in large numbers – make the Perfume Pagoda an obligatory stop in Vietnam’s north.