6 hours
Specific Tour
45 people
English
Hanoi is situated on an ancient soil area deposited from time immemorial with layer after layer of alluvium carried down from the northern mountain ranges by the Red River and its tributaries.
That is the reason why Hanoi feel as closely connected to their Red River as children do towards their mothers. In the old days the Red River has been given another common name: Cai (Mother) River. The name of Hanoi (Exterior side of a river) has derived from an ancient language which is literally known as a land area located in the inner side the Red River. It is not that the city is inside the river but rather it is embraced by about 100 kilometers of the Red river dykes. The dyke portion in Hanoi accounts for about one fifth of the total river dykes flanking on either side of the Red River that runs along the Vietnamese territory on a stretch of more than 500 kilometers.
Other rivers that run through Hanoi include the Duong, the Cau, the Ca Lo, the Day, the Nhue, the Tich, the To Lich and the Kim Nguu rivers. The last two river, To Lich and Kim Nguu, have been regarded as an inexhaustible source of inspiration for many Vietnamese literature writers and poems who lived in the capital city in the old days. These two rivers were considered the most Poetic and romantic bodies of water that flows through the city.
At present the two rivers, To Lich and Kim Nguu, are still partly seen in the city. There former grandeur has long lost their literature charm because they have to give way to urbanization development scheme. Currently these rivers are regarded merely as the city’s main open ditch drainage system. However, the government has had in mind a massive upgrading scheme to return the two historic rivers their original beauty