Hanoi
Turtle tower: The architectural landmark of Hoan Kiem lake
Turtle tower is an architectural work considered as a significant landmark of Hoan Kiem lake.
Turtle tower is a typical architecture of Sword lake
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After the French occupation in 1883, the people living in the lake’s surroundings were displaced and the Vietnamese dignitaries also left their offices. Only Nguyen Ngoc Kim, a Tu Thap village official remained on duty and served as mediator between the local people and the French occupation forces. He was called by the villagers notable Kim. Around 1884-1886, a geomancy belief told Kim that it would be of good fortune for his family to bury his parents’ remains in the eyot. Kim then used the excuse to build a tower there to sneakily bury his parent. Knowing Kim’s scheme, the local people secretly digged up his parents’ remains and threw them into the lake. Initially, this tower was named the village’s notable Kim. During the French colonial period, on the top of the Turtle Tower, a version of the Statue of Liberty (1890-1896) was erected and called an ironic name “Statue of the Open-Dress Dame”. After 1945, this statue was demolished when the nationalist government of Tran Trong Kim was in power.
Turtle tower is sparkling and fanciful at night
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The tower is a combination of European and Asian architecture – with gothic arches at its first two storeys combined with the hip roof of Vietnam architecture.
The rectangle-shaped brick tower has four facades and four storeys and was built on a mound measuring 350 square meters. The base floor is the largest. The upper floors are narrower. There are three arches on the eastern and western sides while two arches are found on the southern and northern sides. The first and the top floor are fenced with horizontal and vertical spindle. Four ridge lines bend toward the middle of the roof. The top tower is a 5-pointed star shape.
The tower structure features traditional style combined with foreign traits such as rectangular-shaped underframe and arches of Western Gothic art. From Jade ilet, the tower looks outstanding on the green grass and sparkling in green lake appealing to many poets and writers.
