Source: www.flickr.com

Source: www. flickr.com

Early news

Like any cities around the world, Hanoi lives to become a sweet home to many people who were born or not born there, who were Vietnamese or foreigners.

No matter who they are, when they chose to settle down in the capital city, they mingle into the life of Hanoians who are known for their elegance.

I would like to bring in a series of photos, depicting the casualness in the daily life of generations of Hanoians.

Source: www.flickr.com

Bui Xuan Phai (1920-1988) is one of them. The Vietnamese painter is famous for the paintings of Hanoi Old Quarter.

His love for the city was so intimate that whenever his works of art are mentioned, one would expect to see a fresh corner of Hanoi in the past.

The phrase “Pho Phai” (Pho means (Hanoi) streets and Phai is his name) was coined for this very reason.

The best known of all Vietnamese modern painters, Phai is respected and admired for both his art and moral character. His works are now displayed in galleries and museums both at home and abroad.

He was awarded posthumously Ho Chi Minh prize in 1996, the highest national prize in Vietnam.

Sources:

www.wikipedia.org

www.flickr.com

Com - a perfect autumn taste

For me, autumn is the finest season of the year. I love autumn simply because it brings about the quintessence of the earth and sky.

Com – green rice flakes or young sticky rice – is a delicate present the autumn grants generations of Hanoians. Its 3-plus milky sweetness, delicate fragrance, and freshness are too enticing to refuse.

One poet wrote “As the autumn starts its cool wind, comes the fragrance of new-season Com…”

is best tasted in mid-autumn when the young grains full of milk.

Com - a test of Hanoi delicacy

Com

And rice growing farmers are the only ones who truly understand when it is time to gather young grains to make Com.

Then young rice grains are harvested, roasted and ground down to become Com. They are put into a large firing pan under small flames and stirred slowly for a specific period of time.

They are then poured into a rice mortar and slightly pounded with a wooden pestle, rythmically and at quick intervals until the husk is removed.

Following this, the young rice is removed from the mortar and winnowed before being poured again into the mortar and the process repeated. This is then repeated exactly seven times so that all the husk is removed from the young sticky grains.

If the pounding is done irregularly and in haste, or it is not repeated for the prescribed seven times, the green colour of the grains will disappear and be replaced by an unexpected brown colour.

Vong Village is well-known for its Com making tradition. Visitors to Vong village (about 5km from the centre of Hanoi) during the Com season will have a chance to listen to the special rythmic pounding of wooden pestles against mortars filled with young rice and see women shifting and winnowing the pounded young rice. Com is regarded as a purely pastoral gift.

To enjoy Com, it is advisable to chew it slowly so that one can feel the stickiness of the young rice and at the same time enjoy its sweet, fragrant taste. Often the bright green rice flakes are wrapped in dark green lotus leaf and tied by a yellowish rice straw.

Com can be tasted separately but perfectly with ripen persimmon and bananas. And from Com, other specialties can be processed such as che Com (kind of sweet soup for desert made with sugar and Com), xoi Com (steamed sticky rice with Com), Com cake, etc.

In Hanoi, the Nguyen Ninh family has been famous for their Com cake for more than 130 years. Com cake is an indispensable part in engagement ceremonies. Now, quite a lot of families follow Nguyen Ninh business. They make Hang Than street in Hanoi’s Old Quarter famous for this specialty.

Source:

www.vietbao.vn

www.dactrung.net

Frankly speaking, Hanoi looks much more charming partly due to these old buildings which are currently used as private houses or offices.

 Like classic tube houses in the Hanoi’s Old Quarter, the municipal authorities and architects concern about the likelihood that city’s old villas built in the French colony would be lost without proper protection.

To Haoians, these villas which carry an extraordinary historical value are part of the capital city’s heritage.

Local architects all agree that it is time these old villas and buildings, particularly those of high architectural value, were preserved to enhance the best features of Hanoi.

The French-style architecture was adopted in late 19th century. However, the city construction and planning underwent stronger growth from 1920 to 1945, the year Vietnam proclaimed its independence.

According to Hanoi Construction Department, only 15% of the total 970 villas sustain its origin. Up to 80% of the buildings have been upgraded and repaired, which leads to the deformation of many.

The architecture of the remaining buildings is quite diversified, bearing Roma, Greek or Gothic architecture features.

These used to be working places for the Governor-General of Indochina, the Supreme’ Court, Resident Superior, the St. Joseph’s Cathedral or the Opera House, etc.

St. Joseph's Cathedral, Hanoi was inaugurated in 1887

Some typical villas:

Source: VTC news

http://www.vtc.vn/317-226032/xa-hoi/do-thi/ky-bi-va-duyen-dang-biet-thu-co-ha-noi.htm

www.flickr.com

 Source:

www.flickr.com

In the previous post, I weaved through why the majority of streets in the Old Quarter were named hang: Hang Be, Hang Non, Hang Khoai, Hang Bong, Hang Luoc, Hang Ma, etc

Now I would like to explore another uniqueness of the Old Quarter: traditional tube houses.

Typical look of the old town. These narrow tube houes run back from the street

Due to the high density of people, two types of tube houses exist in Hanoi. The old tube houses were built before and in the 19th century whereas the modern tube houses were first built in late 20th century.

The traditional tube-house is a kind of the street house with 2.5-4.5m width. Its length is 9 or 10 times larger than the width.

The best example of Old Quarter's tube house is at 87 Ma May street. The house has been restored and is now open to visitors.

The house has 1 to 3 storeys and 2 or 3 courtyards. However, concern about the risk of losing these traditional houses is growing.

According to the newest survey of a research funded by Japanese Government, the tube-house built in the traditional form in Hanoi is few in number, almost they have been changed.

Some houses have been absolutely changed. Some houses still keep a part facing the street but their inner parts were built upward to 3 or 5 storey, even 7 storey buildings.

Quite a lot of researchers and historians admit that the classic “tube-house” is the specific feature of the ancient quarter. Hanoi would be Hanoi if we all join hands to preserve its typical characteristics.

Partly-modern tube house on Hang Ma street.

 Source:

- The National centre for scientific and technological information www.english.vista.gov.vn

- To Kien (2008) ″Tube House″ and ″Neo Tube House″ in Hanoi: A Comparative Study on Identity and Typology . Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, Vol. 7, No. 2 pp.255-262 .

Hang Vai is no longer selling cloths

In everyone’s lips, Hanoi makes its name as a place of 36 streets which constitute the Old Quarter.

Interestingly, up to two-thirds of the street names start with the word hang. Hang means merchandise or shop.

As the oldest continuously developed area in Vietnam, the 100-hectare Old Quarter has a history that spans more than 1,000 years and represents the essential soul of the city.

The Old Quarter began to acquire its reputation as a crafts area when King Lý Thái To moved his capital to Thăng Long (later renamed Hanoi) in 1010.

In the 13th century, craftsmen from neighboring villages migrated to the area and artisan guilds were formed. Because inhabitants of each street came from the same village, performing similar services, that 36 guilds or streets of hang came into being.

In other words, the streets were named after the merchandise originally produced by their residents, for example Hang Gai (silk), Hang Quat (fans), Hang Giày (shoes), Hang Bac (silver) etc.

Hang Bac (silver street), one of the oldest streets in Vietnam, started as a silver ingot factory under the reign of King Le Thanh Tong (1469-1497). Now the street also has jewelers of different types: engravers, smelters, polishers, and gold-leaf makers.

Hang Bac (silver street)

Hang Dao, which cuts the Old Quarter in half, was a centre for the trading of silk products in the French colonial time. In the 15th century, the street was the location of the silk dyer guild which specialized in a deep pink dye.

Dao, the name of the street, refers to the pink of apricot blossoms which are symbolic of Vietnamese lunar new year. This street now specializes in ready-made clothing

Hang Mam. The name is derived from the various kinds of mam, or fish sauces, that are produced and sold here, as well as other sea products. The street was originally on the riverside, close to the day’s catch.

Hang Thiec is the street of tinsmiths. The craftsmen originally produced small tin cone-shaped tips which were used to preserve the shape of the traditional conical hats. A neighboring street, Hang Non, made the hats.

Hang Ma glimmers with shiny paper products, such as gift wrappings, wedding decorations and miniature paper objects to burn for the dead.

Hang Ma

Today, some streets still offer the services of old, for example Hang Thiec is still the place to buy tin receptacles and for sheet-metal work. Meanwhile, others have changed.  Hang Vai, or Cloth Street, is now home to the bamboo trade, and many old streets support new trades.

The Old Quarter is a precious legacy of Hanoi’s ancient past, but the area is challenged by rapid changes. Today handicraft production is increasingly replaced by restaurants, repair shops and mini hotels. Craft workers now constitute 9 per cent of the neighborhood.

To preserve the charm and historic assets of the Old Quarter, quite a lot of projects have been mapped out by both local and foreign agencies.

Source

 - Vietnam Cultural Profile http://www.culturalprofiles.net/viet_nam/Units/2497.html

- ThingsAsian http://www.thingsasian.com/stories-photos/1001

- Nguoi Hanoi newspaper (Hanoian)

Next post: Typical Old Quarter’s tube-houses

For many foreigners who come to visit and fall in love with Hanoi, it is something sacred. Philippe Chaplain, chairman of France’s National Heritage League, is one.

Long Bien Bridge

Chaplain visited Vietnam for the first time in 2002. An invisible thread has sown the seeds of love for Hanoi in his heart. He started collecting photos on the country, especially Hanoi from that time.

In October this year, he came back to Hanoi with a special gift to commemorate the capital city’s 999^th anniversary. 

With dozens of photos featuring old streets, vintage fashion, traditional trades and the lifestyle of the people, Chaplain’s Hanoi in My Heart exhibition has unveiled vivid images of Hanoi in the past.

“For me, the Old Quarter is Ha Noi’s heart,” he told Viet Nam News, the national English Language Daily. “As a foreigner, it’s wonderful for me to walk its always active streets.”

“I love watching, listening and feeling the pulse of life here.”

Chaplain has also constructed a website on Hanoi accessible in Vietnamese, French and English, www.hanoilavie.com

Girls with the habit of chewing betel and areca nut

Soyabean curd vendor

Chaplain hopes his projects would enlarge the love for Hanoi among Hanoians and foreigners alike, particularly young Vietnamese generations as they lift a veil on the past and contrast with the city today.

Chaplain’s exhibition coincided with what the French journalist and photographer, Dominique de Miscault  had on display at the Vietnam Cultural Centre in Paris.

Nearly 100 photos displayed provide viewers with fine depictions of Hanoi’s lifestyle and scenery in the past and its transition towards the future.

.

Mrs. de Miscault said that this is only a selection of the thousands of pictures she took during her visits to Vietnam.

More than 20 times going back and forth between Hanoi and Paris since 1992 has earned her precious moments to stay in the heart of the city.

“Each time I roam through Hanoi’s Old Quarter, I can feel the dynamic change in the city and I hope it can preserve its unique attraction forever,” Mrs. De Miscault said.

Comment:

Either in the eyes of the locals or of foreigners, I feel my Hanoi be so elegant.

Sources: Viet Nam News, Voice of Vietnam (vovnews.com)