Sword Lake: In the Viewfinder

I made this video back in July 2007 to test out the features of my newly acquired Sony HVR-Z1 professional video camera.

This was my first ever venture into documentary making. I lived in Hanoi at the time, and most of my fondest moments was around the Sword Lake. Situated downtown, Sword Lake is to Hanoi what Central Park is to New York City. It is a great place to take a stroll, go for an afternoon coffee, or challenge strangers for a round of Chinese chess. That small tower in the middle of the lake is called Tháp Rùa, or Tortoise Tower. Sword Lake is situated at the very heart of the city, next to the Old Quarter and home to the burgeoning tourist industry, you can hardly miss it; unless you decide that lakes and towers are mundane and not worth your attention.

During the China-Vietnam conflict in 1400s, a Vietnamese general named Lê Lợi led the rebel force against the Chinese. Legend has it that he found a magic sword, which made him invincible. After defeating the Chinese army, a giant turtle arose from this lake to reclaim the sword, lending the name to the lake.

There live huge turtles in the lake, some can be as large as a square meter. They are all but extinct now, thanks to human influence and city development. On rare occasions when they resurface, people would drop whatever they were doing and go watching. It is said that the re-emergence of these giant turtles brings good fortune, just as Lê Lợi got his. The turtles would crawl onto the small islet to sunbathe. The islet itself started out as very small, but later on, as water level subsides, the islet grew in size.

During the French Occupation Era, Nguyễn Ngọc Kim, a rich Vietnamese officer for the colonial French built the Tortoise Tower on that islet, to be used as a tomb for his late father. Even though his plan didn't pan out as intended, the tower's construction was still completed in 1886. The 3-storey tower bears a resemblance of French Gothic architecture on the first and second storey, while keeping the top typical that of Vietnamese traditional architecture.

There is another tower built near the red bridge, which resembles like a brush, so people call it Tháp Bút (Brush Tower). When you look into its reflection in the water, it seems as if Brush Tower leans down, using the water's green color to write poems on the blue sky. Therefore the tower has become an icon for the importance of culture and education.

Today, Sword Lake is a favourite spot for long strolls, practicing Tai Chi Chuan, playing Chinese chess, or meeting place for young lovers. The lake can get quite misty in the early hours of morning, especially during winter, which gives it a strange, ethereal quality. It is an important part of Vietnam's history, because not only it is a symbol for peace (the returned sword) but also culture (the Brush Tower), and it still serves as a source of inspiration for many artists to this day.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Sword
• Lake
• Hoan
• Kiem
• Hanoi
• Vietnam

[huymoller]

read my description on the right panel

[nhan270684]

hi r u tour guide? could u tell me more about this lake in english?