Recreating the changes of Hanoi over a century

Baoquocte.vn. To celebrate the 69th anniversary of the liberation of the Capital (October 10, 1954 - October 10, 2023), on October 6, the National Archives Center I, the State Records and Archives Department in coordination with the Thang Long - Hanoi Heritage Conservation Center organized the Exhibition "Ancient Citadel, Old Street" at the Thang Long - Hanoi Heritage Conservation Center.

Triển lãm 'Thành xưa, Phố cũ': Tái hiện sự thay đổi của Hà Nội trong hơn một thế kỷ

The exhibition "Old Citadel, Old Street" is arranged according to two main themes: " City next to the Street" and " Stories of Western and Eastern streets".

With 180 versions of documents, materials, images, maps, and technical drawings selected for display, “Old Citadel, Old Street” will bring a new perspective on the history, culture, land, and people of Thang Long - Hanoi from the early 19th century to the mid-20th century in the space of old Hanoi with neighborhoods, roads, historical and cultural relics, and many works bearing the French mark.

The exhibition is organized according to two main themes: City by the Street and Stories of Western and Eastern Streets.

The late 19th and early 20th centuries marked important changes in Hanoi in its transformation from an old Asian-style urban area to a modern city with Western-style imprints. At this time, the French began to plan and build Hanoi on the basis of the old Thang Long capital, with the center being Hanoi citadel.

Apart from some structures that are retained such as: Ky Dai, Doan Mon, dragon steps in front of Kinh Thien Palace, Hau Lau, and North Gate - evidence of a glorious historical period, Hanoi citadel has changed to a new look with Asian and European style.

Cửa Đông thành Hà Nội nhìn từ phía ngoài.

Image of the East Gate of Hanoi citadel seen from the outside, late 19th century. (Source: National Archives Center I)

The city was expanded with many new neighborhoods, newly built political and administrative centers. Hanoi gradually took on a different look, but in harmony with the Western-style architectural space, there are still traces of the "Old City - Old Town".

The Organizing Committee hopes that the Exhibition “Old Citadel, Old Streets” will partly recreate the changes of Hanoi over the past century. That is the image of Hanoi citadel built in the Vauban style in the early Nguyen Dynasty or the image of Hanoi wards and towns before the changes towards modern urbanization, gradually transforming into a Hanoi built and planned in the Western style with crisscrossing streets in a checkerboard pattern.

On the same day, at the Hoan Kiem Lake Cultural Information Center (Hanoi), the Management Board of Hoan Kiem Lake and Hanoi Old Quarter coordinated with the National Archives Center I, the State Records and Archives Department to organize the exhibition "Hoan Kiem Lake, the East-West Crossroads".

The exhibition “Ho Guom Lake, the East-West Crossroads” introduces to the public the changing appearance of an ancient Hanoi in the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century in the interweaving of the ancient and the modern, between the East and the West.

At that time, Hoan Kiem Lake was chosen by the French as the center of the planning process. From Hoan Kiem Lake, the city was expanded, gradually spreading to the surrounding areas; streets were renovated, relics were selected for preservation, many new cultural works and administrative headquarters were built. Hanoi had changed its new look, more modern but still no less ancient.

Documentary images of Hoan Kiem Lake in the early 20th century. (Source: National Archives Center I)

More than 100 documents, materials, images, design drawings, and planning maps introduced at this Exhibition are part of the many documents and materials about ancient Hanoi currently preserved at the National Archives Center I.

The exhibition is structured with 3 main themes: The process of changing the appearance of Hoan Kiem Lake ; Preserving the historical and cultural space of Hoan Kiem Lake ; Hoan Kiem Lake - Service and cultural entertainment center

Through the Exhibition, many beautiful memories of Hanoi are expressed through the lens of those who were born and raised here, hoping to bring the public many fresh emotions during the Autumn days of Hanoi.

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