New night tour offers an escape to history

Seeing Hanoi at night is proving really popular for tourists visiting the capital.

Now even more evening entertainment has been added to Hanoi’s sight-seeing itinerary.

Ngoc Son Temple on Hoan Kiem Lake has been lit up to tell about its historic past.

Modern lights and sound effects are mixed with contemporary and folk singing and dancing to create a unique realistic theatrical show.

The legend of Le Loi King (1428-1433) returning the magic sword to the holy turtle is the highlight of the night time show.

According to the legend, the golden turtle loaned a magic sword to the king to fight against the Ming invaders. After ascending to the throne in 1428, the king returned the magic sword to the turtle on Luc Thuy Lake.

Then the lake was renamed as Hoan Kiem Lake (Returned Sword Lake) to record the incident.

Theatrical director Le Quy Duong said he wanted to bring a lively soul to the hidden corner so that visitors to Ngoc Son Temple not only take photographs on The Huc Bridge or burn incense at the temple to pray for good luck.

“Inside the old stones and roots of the old trees here, there are stories to tell about history,” he told Vietnam News. “It’s a mysterious world.”

Realistic theatrical performance, installation art, and 3D lighting tech have made Ngoc Son Temple a stunning place to see at night, which is quite different from it in the daytime.

The show has attracted hundreds of people each night and most of them have been blown away by what they saw.

As a researcher on culture and relic sites, Nguyen Van Hieu often visits ancient places including Ngoc Son Temple.

“This is the first time I have experienced Ngoc Son Temple during a night tour with interesting visual and audio effects affecting directly my feelings, which is not easy to forget in my life,” he admitted.

“At night, visitors stepping in here seem to step in another space – a space of experience, of history blending with technology. It’s like a holy place under a new angle of vision.”

Not only locals but foreigners also wowed at the show. They’ve never seen anything quite like it.

“I was interested in the temple,” said Natia Bueno from the U.S.

“We came to the temple. We saw there was a show in the evening and I love anything that's cultural and represents the city. I know the temple is the symbol the city so I want to come to check out the show and see how it looks.”

Jennifer Bulla, also from the U.S, knew very little about Vietnam before her trip.

“Cultural wise, this is all brand new to me and then we just like travelling to new places and getting to know the culture just to learn something new,” she said.

“We don’t know anything about Hanoi or anything about Vietnam. So this is a new learning experience for us and it’s very fun.”

Max Sharpe, from the UK, was impressed by the songs, lights and sounds.

“The music is interesting and gets you involved in it, especially seeing inside how respectful everyone is, it’s interesting,” he said.

Visitors can see replicas of the gold turtles at an exhibition.

Though the show has not been translated or summarised in any leaflets, audience still understand it.

“I don’t speak the language here but I love it,” said Natia. “It’s so easy to follow and it was beautiful. I loved when she came down the bridge and danced. I loved the boat. I loved that you can see the story as you walk around and get to the end when they explain a little more about everything that was going on.”

Max believed if he may have enjoyed the show more, he could understand it better.

He said: “If I could know what was being spoken, it would give me a lot more on history. So that would be more interesting. It’s more fascinating than just watching and seeing everything going on,” he admitted.

In the future, organisers intend to offer foreign-language audio interpretations as an upgrade to this trial version.

Then it will be a popular addition for all wanting to enjoy a night in Hanoi.

There are fixed shows at Ngoc Son Temple, Hoan Kiem Lake, every Wednesday and Thursday with three shows each night at 7 pm, 8 pm and 9 pm. Shows on other nights can be ordered in advance. The ticket is sold at VND260,000 per adult ($10.9) and VND218,000 per children below 15 of age. Tickets can be purchased at the site.

Hotline for booking: +84 938 353 239 and the Facebook page: Đền Ngọc Sơn và khu vực Hồ Hoàn Kiếm.

Other highly recommended night activities in Hanoi for your concern:

-The Quintessence of Tonkin live show, Sai Son Village, Quoc Oai district, 7.30 pm-8.45 pm, Saturdays and Sundays.

-Hoa Lo Prison Tour, Hoa Lo street, Hoan Kiem district, from 7 pm.

-Pedestrian zones, from 6 pm, Friday-Sunday: in Hoan Kiem Lake, Hoan Kiem district; in Trinh Cong Son street, Tay Ho district.

-Son Tay Ancient Citadel, Son Tay Town

-Cuisine Street in Đao Ngọc-Ngu Xa, Ba Dinh district and Tran Nhan Tong street, Hai Ba Trung district.

-Water Puppetry Show at Thang Long Water Puppetry Theatre, Hoan Kiem district.

-Royal Citadel Night Tour, Thang Long Citadel Complex, Ba Dinh district.

-Night tour at Vietnam Literature Museum, 275 Au Co street, Tay Ho district.

-Cuisine tour in Tong Duy Tan - Ta Hien - Đong Xuan Night Market, Hoan Kiem district.

-City tour on the double-decker bus around downtown.

-Dong Xuan Tram Car tour, Hoan Kiem district.

-Cyclo tour, Hoan Kiem district.

-Flag lowering ceremony, 9 pm, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

-Hanoi Book Street.

-Live show The Legend of Youth, 8 pm-9 pm, final Saturday and Sunday of each month, Vietnam Women’s Museum, 36 Ly Thuong Kiet street, Hoan Kiem district.

-Thang Long-Hanoi bicycle tour, 7.30 pm daily.

-Temple of Literature light show, from 7.30 pm, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.