Beitou (北投) is a district of Taipei City at the foot of Yangmingshan (陽明山 or Yangming Mountain), a collection of mountain peaks that make up Yangminshan National Park. These include Seven Star Mountain (七星山 or Qixingshan), a dormant volcano that last erupted around 700,000 years ago.
Xinbeitou (新北投), the hot spring village around Xinbeitou MRT station, occupies a lush valley that is home to 1200 species of plants, 110 species of bird, and 160 varieties of butterflies.
Beitou Thermal Valley (also called Beitou Geothermal Valley or Hell Valley) is a second, highly acidic “green sulfur” hot spring that is a major tourist attraction in Beitou and the source of the hot creek running through Beitou Hot Spring Park.
The spring water is high in radium, which in the past underwent a corrosive reaction with the andesite rocks on the river bed about 150 meters downstream, creating layers of cream and white diamond-shaped crystals named Hokutolite or “Beitou stone”, ...
A visit to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi is one of the most significant sites in modern Vietnamese history. Following the death of Ho Chi Minh in 1969, the Vietnamese leadership decided, against his own wishes for a simple cremation, to preserve his body for public veneration, much as Lenin’s remains had been treated in Moscow.
Construction of the mausoleum began on 2 September 1973 on the very spot in Ba Dinh Square where Ho Chi Minh had declared Vietnam’s independence in 1945. Designed through collaboration between Vietnamese and Soviet architects and engineers, the structure draws clear inspiration from Lenin’s Mausoleum while incorporating local elements such as a gently tiered roof reminiscent of traditional Vietnamese temples. Grey granite cladding, sturdy columns, and materials sourced from across the country give the building a sense of permanence and national unity.
The mausoleum was formally inaugurated on 29 August 1975, and since then it has served as both a place of quiet ...
Ô Quan Chưởng, also known as the Old East Gate or Đông Hà Môn, stands as the last remaining outer city gate of historic Thăng Long, the forerunner of modern Hanoi.
Constructed in 1749 during the tenth year of the Cảnh Hưng era under King Lê Hiển Tông, it formed part of the network of outer fortifications that once enclosed the capital.
The gate controlled access on the eastern side of the city walls, standing roughly eighty meters from the old Red River landing and serving the commercial ward of Đông Hà.
It was rebuilt in 1817 under Emperor Gia Long of the Nguyễn dynasty, retaining the form largely visible today: a brick and stone structure with three arched openings and an upper pavilion once used by guards for observation.
Above the central arch the characters for Đông Hà Môn remain, while a stone stele placed in 1881 by Governor Hoàng Diệu records an order forbidding gate keepers from harassing residents. The popular name Quan Chưởng is traditionally linked to stories...
Long Bien Market, known locally as Chợ Long Biên, sits near the northern edge of Hanoi’s Old Quarter beside the historic Long Bien Bridge. For generations it has served as one of the city’s main wholesale hubs for fresh vegetables, fruit, herbs and other produce.
Goods arrive overnight by truck from farms across northern Vietnam and beyond, feeding the network of smaller morning markets and restaurants that keep Hanoi supplied each day.
The market’s rhythm is dictated by the night: activity builds after midnight, reaches its height in the early hours, and gradually winds down toward dawn as traders pack up and move on for the day to repeat it again the following morning.
What visitors encounter is a working wholesale space rather than a polished tourist market. Narrow lanes fill with crates of greens, mountains of seasonal fruit, sacks of herbs and the constant movement of porters, vendors and buyers.
Bargaining is direct and practical. The air carries the scent of fresh earth, ...
