Ngoc Son Temple (Đền Ngọc Sơn), or Temple of the Jade Mound, is located on a small islet at Hoan Kiem Lake in the City of Hanoi. The temple was founded in the 14th century but most of its current structures were built in the 18th century.
Ngoc Son Temple was built to commemorate a few Chinese and Vietnamese legends, including famous Vietnamese General Trần Hưng Đạo who twice led the Vietnamese troops to fence off the mighty Yuan invaders in the 13th century.
Sharing a few photos of the temple below, taken during my Hanoi trip in July 2008. It’s a small temple, but pretty nostalgic with a serene environment…
Ngoc Son Temple as viewed from across the Hoan Kiem Lake
Main entrance to the Jade Mound and the temple
An incense vessel just outside of the main temple building
A Vietnamese lady in Aodai (traditional Vietnamese dress) entering the temple
Morning Sunlight Bridge (Thê Húc) which connects the islet to mainland
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nice photos. it shows again that vietnamese traditions are heavily influenced by chinese traditions. they even use chinese words lol.
the general you mentioned, you say he defeated the yuan invaders, you are not saying about the yuan dynasty isn’t it? if it’s the yuan dynasty thats something really remarkable.
Vietnamese language was adapted from Chinese language and evolved gradually. When French took over Vietnam they replaced it with Latin writings which shaped the current Vietnamese language.
Yes, it’s the Yuan Dynasty during Kublai Khan era. You can read a bit more about Tran Hung Dao and his battle on Wikipedia.
The Viet lady entering the temple looks pretty hot. ;p the temple is cool too. I like the traditional dress of many asian countries for the women. Very classy.
Vietnam looks like a beautiful place to visit.
cole… one thing common about Vietnamese, boys or girls, is that they have fit bodies (mostly)… lean but not skinny. And the Aodai is a very clever design; it shows the curves of the ladies pretty well.
Agreed. And I’ve noticed alot of ‘curvy’ Vietnamese girls lately. Nice. And classy looking. Nice thing about traditional dress (of any culture) is that it leaves a little to the imagination.
I always felt the same way about qipaos too. There’s nothing sweeter than seeing a beautiful fit slim curvy asian woman wearing one. And I like the long ones too. So classy.
Well, and can’t forget the long black hair hanging down the back of that lady. That adds to her beauty as well, lol. (I’m not a big fan of short hair unless the woman just really has the look and build for it.)
Actually, the qipaos have evolved a lot in the past century. A traditional qipao doesn’t really show the curves, but has a straight cutting… you probably can’t see the waistline.
Hairstyle is a great weapon to cover some flaws or to enhance the look of a lady. A woman who looks good in simple short hair would probably looks great in whatever hairstyle she is having.
I was surprised after doing some research to find that qipaos were originally worn by men. And yes, as you say they were more straight cut. I love the qipaos of today on a woman with a nice slim figure. The small high collar really adds a ‘classy’ , elegant feel. Yet they are still very sexy on a beautiful asian woman.
I’ve seen a few western women that look pretty good in them. (ie: Kirstin Dunst in Spiderman) but generally they only have a magical quality on asian girls. Maybe it’s the long black hair or the “demeanor’ of asian women. Don’t know. But qipaos are very exotic looking. Like them with high collar, short sleeves and long to mid length with the split up the sides of the dress. I don’t really like the short dresses though. It kind of takes away from the sophisticated look.
The Vietamese dress also has that same sophisticated, yet exotic quality for me I guess.
The nice feature about modern qipao is that it shows the curves… but not actually suitable for ladies that have big ‘assets’ because it would spoil the balance. That’s probably why it fits better for Asians.
Wellcome to Vietnam! My country is very beautiful, peaceful and many foods, traditions, cultures… Hope u will visit my country! Thanks
Great pictures…thanks for sharing! Looks and sounds like you had a great trip? I hope? I’ve only visited Southern Vietnam and loved it but I would love to visit Central and North VN on my next trip.
“it shows again that vietnamese traditions are heavily influenced by chinese traditions”
I’m not a Vietnamese history expert (bad me) but I do know that the Vietnamese culture derives from the Chinese (we’re descendents) many, many, many moons ago. So it shouldn’t be a surprise (but obvious) to find many similarities in culture.
I agree, that’s a GREAT picture of a traditional Vietnamese woman in her ao dai! It epitomizes the whole culture…tall, slender with long black hair. BUT I wish the dress was more forgiving…you definitely can’t eat much in it! :P
Thanks for the compliment vietgirl… yupe, it’s a nice trip.