Hanoi Streets, Hanoi Names

 BÀ TRIỆU

Triệu Thị Trinh, also known as  Ấu Triệu, was a young lady from Thanh Hoá province who excelled in the martial arts and other athletic endeavors. In the 3rd Century AD, she joined her brother, Triệu Quốc Đạt , the leader of an uprising against Wu invaders from China. Đạt was killed in battle. Lady Triệu decided to avenge his death by replacing him in the insurrection against the Wu. Seated atop a charging elephant, she led her followers into battle. Their defeat was swift, however. In her home province of Thanh Hoá, they were surrouned, and the outcome was obvious. Rather than surrender, Bà Triệu committed suicide.

At the northern end of Bà Triệu Street, near Hoàn Kiếm Lake, giò or pork rice cakes were once made and sold. Thus, this section of the street was called Hàng Giò. Adjacent to Hàng Giò was Hàng Kèn, where musical wind instruments (kèn) were crafted and sold. In 1883, the French named the northern stretch of today’s Bà Triệu Street Gia Long, the first of the Nguyễn     Dynasty (1802-1945) emperors. They called the southern section of the street Lê Lợi, the first of the Lê Dynasty (1428-1527) emperors. After the August 1945 Revolution, Gia Long Street became Mai Hắc Đế and Lê Lợi became Bà Triệu. After the final French withdrawal from Vietnam in 1954, the whole street was named Bà Triệu.

In 1946, the building at 21 Bà Triệu served as a liaison office for the newly established government of Vietnam. By then French troops had returned to Vietnam, ostensibly to disarm the remaining Japanese forces. One of the duties of the liaison office was to coordinate activities between the Vietnamese and French armed forces in Hà Nội. On 19 December 1946, when fighting erupted between the two sides, 21 Bà Triệu was targeted by the French. Equipped with tanks and other modern weaponry, they assaulted the government office. All of its defenders were killed in the ensuing firefight. Today, 21 Bà Triệu is home to the Communist Party People’s Committee of Hoàn Kiếm District. 

BẠCH ĐẰNG

Bạch Đằng is the name of a river northeast of Hải Phòng. Its popular use as a street and place name is the result of two major military battles that took place on the Bạch Đằng River. 

In 938 AD, Ngô Quyền and his stroops defeated the invading Han forces by ingeniously disabling their troopships when they were retreating. Centuries later, in 1288, General Trần Hưng Đạo used the same tatics on the same river to vanquish Mongol invaders. 

In Đà Nẵng, Bạch Đằng Road, formerly called Quai Courbet, runs along the Han riverfront. The Việt Quảng Bookstore was located on Quai Courbet. In the mid 1930’s, former Prime Minister Phạm Văn Đồng and other revolutionaries often met there to plan resistance activities. A few French- built mansions, now converted to uses other than residential, still overlook the river.

AO BÁ QUÁT (1809-1854)

Cao Bá Quát was a poet whose 1350 Han dialect poems were so popular that his his readers called him Thánh Quát (Saint Quát ). Poet Quát did not like the treatment of the masses by the court so he and Lê Huy Cự led a peasant insurrection against the Nguyễn Dynasty (1802-1945). He was arrested and executed. 

CẦU ĐÔNG  (EASTERN BRIDGE)

Cầu Đông Street derives its name from being near the Cầu Đông Market which, in turn, had taken its name from the Eastern Bridge that was nearby. 

Before the French arrived and began filling in the lakes,ponds, rivers, and canals, that characterized low-lying Hà Nội, its northern area was crossed by the Tô Lịch River that flowed into the Hồng (Red) river. Along the banks of the Tô Lịch were a number of riverside markets, one of which was located near the Eastern Bridge  that spanned the Tô Lịch to the east of Thăng Long  Citadel. When the French built Đồng Xuân Market in the same vicinity in1890, these riverside markets faced formidable competition. Then, after the river was filled in, the demise of these small markets was further hastened because they lost their supply route.

CẦU GIẤY  (Paper bridge)

Both Cầu Giấy Street and Cầu Giấy (Paper Bridge) are located in western Hà Nội. This strategic location underscores their importance in Vietnamese history. 

Cầu Giấy was the western gateway to Thawng Long Citadel. Then called Tây Dương, this bridge linked the capital to Xứ Đoài, a wealthy region to the west. The bridge also spanned the Tô Lịch River, a major transportation route centuries ago. Next to the bridge, a market that specialized in paper products was established. Hence, Tây Dương Bridge soon came to be called Cầu Giấy (Paper Bridge). Some of the products from the market made their way downstream to the Old Quarter of Hà Nội, where they were sold on Hàng Quạt Street. There, they were crafted into hand-made fans. Presumably, the paper from the Cầu Giấy  Market also ended up on  Hàng Giấy Street.  

As a gate way to Thăng Long  Citadel, the Cầu Giấy  area saw plenty of military action in the late 1800’s. In 1873, the French, under the command of Francis Garnier, attacked Sơn Tây, 40 kilometers from Thăng Long , and then advanced toward the citadel that had recently fallen to french forces. At the bridge they were ambushed by Tôn Thất Thuyết’s troops and the Black Flag guerrilla group, mercenaries from China who were assisting the Nguyễn Dynasty. Garnier was killed in the ambush.  

Ten rears later, history repeated itself. This time Colonel Henri Riviere led the French expeditionary troops. He had assembled a formidable force: two warships and over 300 soliders from Sài Gòn and Hải Phòng. Again, the French advanced on the citadel along theáơn Tây road; and again, when they reached Cầu Giấy, they were taken on by Vietnamese troops and Black Flag guerrillas. In a fierce counterattack, the French suffered heavy losses. Their leader, Riviere, lost his life and his head. It is said that both he and Garnier are buried in the Cầu Giấy area.   

Decades later, long after the French were firmly established in Vietnam, an electric tram line was extended from HoànKiếm Lake to Cầu Giấy. Linked directly to Hà Nội, the area developed to the extent that it was incorporated into the capital city’s greater metropolitan area in 1942. 

In the 1950’s, the Cầu Giấy area was again being used for military purposes. The French Expeditionary Corps (CEF) established a base there so that communication between its  Hà Nội  command and French forces to the north and west could be maintained.

CẦU GỖ

You will find no wooden bridges along Cầu Gỗ  Street these days. Its location north of Hoàn Kiếm Lake does, however, provide a clue about the name of this street. Just north of Hồ Hoàn Kiếm was another lake, Thái Cực  (Lake of Abundant fish). A canal connected  the two lakes; a wooden bridge espanned the canal.

After the French arrived, they filled in Thái Cực  Lake and the canal. Perhaps the bridge became firewood. In any event, a street was built near where the bridge once stood and the locals spontaneously called it Cầu Gỗ  Street. The French followed suit and referred to it as Rue du Pont en Bois.  Following the August 1945 Revolution, the street’s Vietnamese name was restored.

CHỢ GẠO  (Rice Market)

The area through which Chợ gạo Street now runs was, just over a hundred years ago, part of the estuary where the Tô Lịch  River flowed into the (Red) River. Before the smaller Tô Lịch was filled in, there were a number of wharves near the mouth of the river. Rice was one of the commodities that was offloaded. Hence, the area became a regional hub for the rice trade and remained so even after the Tô Lịch   and its estuary were filled in. The locals began calling the area exactly what it was Chợ gạo. The French were not as specific: they referred to this bustling area as Place du Commerce. After the August 1945 Revolution, the Hà Nội, authorities reinstated the street’s Vietnamese name.

Because of its location near  Long Biên Bridge and its function as a transit point, one of the city’s three public bathhouses was established on Chợ Gạo  Street. It has since been closed, but still stands at the junction of  Chợ Gạo, Nguyễn Siêu, and Đào Duy Từ Street, where it has recently been converted into a very fashionable bia hơi  (draft beer) establishment.

ĐẶNG THÁI THÂN

Đặng Thái Thân was a Vietnamese revolutionary who, when surrounded by the French in 1910, committed suicide rather than be captured.

Before being named Đặng Thái Thân, this street was called Rue Lau Barede by the French. This was the road that French soliders took to reach their barracks in the Land of Concession, an 18-hectare area that had been ceded to the colonial power.

 ĐÀO DUY TỪ (1572-1634)

 Unlike most of its neighboring streets in Hà Nội’s Old Quarter, this street is named after a person. Đào Duy Từ  Street was named in honor of an aspiring young man who did not allow his social status and lack of formal education to block his road to success.

Từ’s parents were folkingers and musicians, and thus of a class that was looked down upon in feudal society. Not permitted to sit for formal examinations because of his heritage, Từ left his home in Thanh Húa Province and went south to join the Nguyễn  Lords. 

Từ blossomed as a military man, a professional and a scholar. As a architect, he designed the famous ramparts that still stand on the banks of the Nhậtt Lệ River in Quảng Bình Province. These earthen fortifications helped the Nguyễn Lords hold off the forces of the Trinh Lords who were advancing from the south. Từ’s literary work included poetry and essays related to military matters. As a scholar, Từ is best known for his pioneering work on military tactics, strategy, and fortifications.

In recognition that part of the street had once been a waterway, during the French era, the northern portion of this street was called Rue del Ancient Canal. The French continued to call the southern end by its original name. after the French withdrew from Vietnam, the entire street retained its original -and present -name.

ĐIỆN BIÊN PHỦ

Three words, Điện Biên Phủ, speak volumes about  the brilliance of military strategy and tactics, the dogged determination of underequipped troops, and the folly of underestimating one’s opppnent.

Điện Biên Phủ is a small town located in northern Vietnam, 16 kilometers from Laos. This location provides a clue as to why this remote place became this site of the most significiant battle in modern Vietnamese history.

For centuries, this area had straddled a trade route from the India Subcontinent and China into northern Vietnam. In the mid 1800’s, when bandits and other ne’er-do-wells were infiltrating into the Red (Hồng) River and wreaking havoc, the Nguy?n Dynasty established a garrison at Điện Biên Phủ to prevent the infiltration.

A century later, the French colonial government in Vietnam also had concerns about this area. They, however, wereconcerned about the exfiltration of Vietnamese revolutionary forces into Laos, where they might threaten the Laotian capital of Luang Prabang. In order to interdict troop and supply movement into Laos, the French Expeditionary Corps command established a sprawling garrison in the elongated Mường Thanh valley and manned it with 12 battalions. They believed that the garison to be impregnable. After all, it was surrouned by steep, densely forested mountains that seemed impenetrable.

Relying solely on manual labor and popular support, Vietnamese armed forces and civilian volunteers transported heavy artillery pieces, other weaponry, and munitions though jungle and dense forest, across rivers and streams, and up and down mountainsides. The weapons were then dug into the mountainsides and camouflaged in strategic locations overlooking the French garrison.

Besieged and under constant shelling, the beleaguered French command sough relief frm the air. Paratroopers and supplies were parachuted in. French airpower tried, but faied, to dislodge the well-entrenched Vietnamese  forces, whose firepower prevented a sufficient number of planes from landing on the base’s two airstrips and reinforcing the garrison.

On 6 May 1954, Vietnamese troops overran the French garrison after a 57-day siege. All 13,000 defenders were eithei killed or captured. Vietnamese casualties were also considerable, but the morale and the will of the French had been broken. Three words came to sum up the end of the Fench War. Fourteen years later, one word, Tết  would spell the end of the American War.

In Hà Nội, Điện Biên Phủ Boulevard stretches from the railroad tracks to Ba Đình  Square, where Hồ Chí Minh delivered the Vietnamese Proclamation of Independence on 2 September 1945. Along this route, the most significiant landmark is the Hà N?i Flag Tower, built in the early 1800’s by Emperor Gia Long. It is located across from the statue of Lenin, on the  grounds of the Army Museum.

ĐINH CÔNG TRÁNG (1842-1887)

Đinh Công Tráng was the leader of the royalist Cần Vương  (Serve the King)  Movement  against the French in Ninh Bình and Thanh Hóa Provinces. In Thanh Hóa, Tráng and his compatriots established a military zone in Ba Đình Commune. In 1887, Tráng died in what has become known as the Ba Đình uprising. Ba Đình Square, where Hồ Chí Minh  proclaimed Vietnamese independence on 2 September 1945, derives its name from this uprising.

ĐINH LỄ (EARLY 15TH CENTURY) 

Đinh Lễ, one of Lê Lợi’s commanders, was a key figure in the Lam Son uprising that carried Lê Lợi to power.

In 1425, the revolt against Ming (Chinese) rule in Vietnam was into its eighth year. Lê Lợi’s forces had advanced north to Nghệ An where their success had inspired the local population to join them in overthrowing the Ming. In June 1425, Lê Lợi sent Commander Đinh Lễ and his troops father north into Thanh Hóa where they defeated the Ming forces. With Thanh Hóa secure, the stage was set for complete victory over the Ming and the establishment of the Lê Dynasty.

ĐINH TIÊN HOÀNG

Đinh Tiên Hoàng was the founder of the Đinh Dynasty (968-980). At birth his parents gave him the name Đinh Bộ Lĩnh was born in Ninh Bình Province south of Hà Nội. 

Through short-lived, the Dinh Dynasty  was important to the formation of the Vietnamese nation. Following the death of Ngô Quyền who had driven the Chinese from Vietnam after a thousand years of domination, the Ngụ Dynasty disintegrated. Vietnam was beset by a reign of confusion as twelve warring lords fought over who was to rule. Still a young general, Hoàng united his war torn country and reached an accommodation with the everlurking Chinese.

Centuries later,during the French colonial rule in Vietnam, a new street was built on what had been Rue du Lac and Ph? Hàng Chè (Tea street). In tribute to a French commander who was slain when ambushed by Black Flag guerrillas in 1873, the French named this new street Rue Francis Garnier. When the Vietnamese authorities took power, they renamed it in honor of the founder of the éinh Dynasty.

At its northern end, where it meets Lý Thái Tổ Street in Hà Nội, Đinh Tiên Hoàng  forms parts of Đông Kinh Nghĩa Thục. (This square is appropriately named because one of the founders of the School for a Just Cause was  Luong van Can  - and his street is just around the corner). A few hundred meters from the square is the three-gate entrance to  Ngọc Sơn Temple in Hoàn Kiếm Lake. Originally, these gates were the entrance to neighboring Bà Triệu Temple, which was demolished  by the French to make way for the street. Square

Midway down the lake, Phổ Giác Pagoda was built in 1774, but then dismantled in 1883 so that there would be room to build the Mayor’s Office and next to it an electric power plant. In the 1930’s, the power plant was moved near Trúc BạchLake. Today its original site is home to the Hà Nội Power Company. The Mayor’s Office became Town Hall and is now the palatial home of the People’s committee of Hà Nội. Toward the southern end of Đinh Tiên Hoàng  stands the HòaPhong Tower, all that remains of the Báo Ân  Pagoda that was torn down in 1889 to make way for both the street and a few post office. Also gone are the tram tracks and the electric trams that ran along Hoàn Kiếm Lake on this street.

ĐOÀN THỊ ĐIỂM

Đoàn Thị Điểm is better known by her pen name, Hồng Hà Nữ Sĩ (Scholar of the Red River). Diem is best known for her long, sorrowful poem, Lament of "a Warrior’s Wife (Chinh Phụ Ngâm). She wrote in chữ nôm, a half phonetic, half ideogtaphic script. Đoàn Thị Điểm died in 1746.

 ĐỐC NGỮ (1844 - 1892)

Đốc Ngữ, whose original name was Nguyễn Đức Ngữ, was a leader of the armed resistance against French rule in the Đà River region in northern Vietnam. Đốc Ngữ died on 7 August 1892.

ĐỘI CẤN

Đội (Corporal) Cấn was the nom de guerre that Trịnh Văn Đạt adopted. Together with Lương Ngọc Quyến, he led the resistance movement against the French in Thai Nguyen Province. In August 1917, they and their followers occu­pied the city of Thái Nguyên and held it for six days before being driven out. Hunted, with capture by the French inevitable, Đội Cấn knew his fate. He took the way out of many a Vietnamese patriot: he took his own life. A few hundred meters off Đội Cấn Street in Ha Noi, through a maze of life-teeming alleys opposite 120 Đội Cấn, are the remains of a B­52 that was shot down during the December 1972 American bombing campaign. They are located where they fell, in a small pond known as Hữu Tiệp Lake.

 ĐỒNG XUÂN

Đồng Xuân Street derives its name from Đồng Xuân Market which, in turn, derived its name from Đồng Xuân Temple.

When the French occupied Hà Nội in the 1880’s, the Tô Lịch River snaked its way from the Cầu Giấy area west of the Hà Nội Citadel, past the northern perimeter of the citadel, and out through the Old Quarter into the Hong (Red) River. Two day markets, the Bạch Ma (White Horse) and the Call Dong, were locat­ed along the riverbanks of the To Ltch River. In 1890, during the same period that the French were filling in the river, they estab­lished a large market on the grounds next to Dong Xuan Temple. Deprived of their riverine supply route, the two markets moved to the newer, larger, more-centralized market. Dong Xu an Market also served as a magnet that drew numerous smaller markets and mer­chants. A flourishing rice market was set up on the street fronting the market, so the French called the street Rue du Riz. After the August 1945 Revolution, the Vietnamese authorities renamed it Dong Xuan Street.

Dong Xuan Market became the focal point of revolutionary fervor in early 1947. Responding to a call from President Ho Chi Minh to resist the return of the French colonialists, the Ha Noi Militia waged a fierce resistance in the Old Quarter. The French troops, after crossing the Long Bien Bridge, found their attempt to reoccupy Ha Noi stymied. The militia had turned the labyrinthine Old Quarter, with .it numerous alleys and asymmetrical street pat­tern, into a maze-like fortress.

The fiercest fighting occurred in mid­ February, almost two months after the Ha Noi Militia answered the President’s call. Frustrated over their inability to dislodge the militia, the French ground troops called in heavy artillery and air support, and then moved into the Old Quarter behind tanks. As they advanced on the Dong Xuan Market, some of their tanks. were destroyed when crossing what appeared to be a football pitch. Anticipating an assault, the militia had turned the Lepage Soccer Field into a minefield. The nineteen defenders inside the market held off the French army for hours and exacted heavy casualties before being overwhelmed.

GIA NGƯ (FISH ALLEY)

The name of this street comes from the first activity to establish itself in this vicinity, the selling of fish. Up until the early 1800’s, there was another lake north of legendary Hoàn Kiếm Lake. Thái Cực (Lake of Great Harmony) was indeed teeming with fish, and the catch was being sold immediately on its shores.

The fish market along the banks of the Thái Cực was called simply Hàng Cá, Vietnamese for fish products. When the second Nguyen Dynasty king, Minh Mang, took power in 1820, however, the name changed. Minh Mạng’s preference for the more classical Vietnamese language derived from the Chinese Han dialect had spread to his sub­jects. Hàng Cá became known as Gia Ngư, the Han expression for fish market.

Toward the end of the 1800’s the French filled in the lake and named the street they built there Rue Tirant. Following the August 1945 Revo­lution, when the Vietnamese regained power in Hà Nội until February 1947, the street was renamed to reflect the area’s original activity.

GIẢNG VÕ

Điện Giảng Võ was a small temple that was established soon after Emperor Lý Thái Tổ moved his capital to Đại La Citadel and changed its name to Thăng Long in 1010. Centuries later, the temple was converted into a Trần Dynasty military training camp of the same name. Eventually Giảng Võ Trường was relocated and given another name, but the area in which it was originally located contin­ued to be called Giảng Võ.

The French never did name this road in the suburbs. In the early 1900’s, however, they built a brick factory at the comer of today’s Giảng Võ and Cát Linh Streets. There, an enor­mous kiln baked enough high-quality bricks to fuel Ha Noi’s housing, manu-factoring, and industrial boom for decades. All that remains of the factory is the brick smokestack that presides over the grounds of the Ha Nội Horison Hotel.

This street was first named Đại La - Kim Mã. In 1964, it was renamed for the temple and military training camp.

HẠ HỒI

Hạ Hồi, little more than an alley that runs off the south side of Trần Hưng Đạo, was named for a decisive military battle that was fought in the late 18th Century.

The Tây Sơn Rebellion had spread north. Nguyễn Huệ had overthrown the Trịnh Lords, taken the daughter of the  Lê  king as his bride, and returned to Huế. After learning that the Qing (Chinese) had invaded and were occupy­ing Thang Long Citadel (Hà Nội), Nguyễn Huệ proclaimed himself Emperor Quang Trung and marched his troops north again. At Hạ Hồi, 15 kilometers south of Thang Long, Quang Trung’s forces quickly overwhelmed the Qing army.
 In 1954, this byway was given its present name. Prior to that that, during French rule, it was called Cite Juareguiberry

 HAI BÀ TRƯNG

Translated literally, Hai Bà Trưng means "two Mrs. Trưngs." Vietnamese people throughout the world, however, know them simply as the "sisters Trưng."

In 40 AD, Trưng Trắc and sister Nhị led an uprising against their Han (Chinese) rulers and claimed independence. Trưng Trắc became empress, but her reign was short­lived. A few years later the Han army, some 200,000 strong, returned and reconquered Vietnam. Rather than surrender, the two sis­ters drowned themselves in the Dáy River, thereby preserving their dignity and honor.

About a kilometer south of Hai Bà Trưng Street in Hà Nội, off Nguyễn Công Trứ Street, is a temple dedicated to the sisters. There, on the 6th day of the second lunar month of a new year, a festival is held in honor of the Trưng sisters.

 HÀNG BẠC (SILVER)

Phố Hàng Bạc is one of the few streets in the Old Quarter of Hà Nội that retains close ties with the occupation of its original inhabitants. That occupation, silversmithing and trading, has its origins in the 15th Century, when Lưu Xuân Tín began minting silver coins for the Lê Thánh Tông regime (1460 - 1497). Fellow silversmiths from his home village of Trâu Khê, Hải Dương Province, soon joined him and an industry was born.

Trâu Khê villagers were also adept at chang­ing money, which in those days involved much more that merely swapping one piece of colored paper for another. Bronze coins were the most common medium of exchange. When the well-to-do wished to convert their fortunes into smaller quantities, they exchanged their bronze coins for fewer, but much more precious, silver bars.

By the time the French moved in, the Nguyễn Dynasty (1802 - 1945) had already moved the silver coin minting operation to Hue, its impe­rial capital. Nevertheless, as evident by the name the French tagged on Hàng Bạc, the money-changing tradition remained. The French called the street Rue des Changeurs.

Goldsmithing was the third of the materialis­tic trades practiced on Hàng Bạc Street. Goldsmiths from Thái BìnhProvince established themselves at the opposite end of the street and plied their glittery trade.

Hang Bac’s most prominent historic land­mark is a French-era theatre fittingly called Chuông Vàng (Golden Bell). The Hà Nội Militia transformed the theatre into a safe haven from which they fought the French who were reoccupying Hà Nội in December 1946.

HÀNG BÈ (RAFT)

Not so very long ago, Phố Hàng Bè was locat­ed near the banks of the Hồng (Red) River. Enterprising traders established themselves in this area so they could procure the bamboo poles that were being offloaded at the nearby wharves. Once transported a few hundred meters inland, craftsmen bound the poles into bamboo rafts.

During the French occupation of Vietnam, they too named this street after its original occupation. Nevertheless, Rue des Radeaux reverted to its Vietnamese name, Hàng Bè, after the August 1945 Revolution.

HÀNG BÔNG (COTTON)

Phố Hàng Bông, considered by some the Old Quarter’s southern boundary, went through a number of name variations before settling on its current moniker.

A section of the kilometer-long street was first called Hàng Hài Street in recognition of the slipper industry established there. Adjacent sections were named Hàng Bông Đem and Hàng Bật Bông. New garments and mattress­es (đem) were made there; and used cotton garments were recycled by beating (bật) them with large instruments that produced a dis­tinctive sound that could be heard from afar. The next section of the street, Hàng Bông Cây Đa Cửa Quyên, retained the cotton identifier, but specified that here we were in the midst of a huge Banyan tree (Cây Đa) near Quyên’s gate. The final section, near the western end of the street, was called Hàng Bông Lờ. Again, the cotton identifier is retained, but added to in order to indicate that bamboo fish traps (lờ) were sold there. High and dry now, a few centuries ago the area southeast of near­by Cửa Nam (southern gate of Thăng Long Citadel) was swampland teeming with fish.

At various points in time, Banyan trees were felled and industries moved on, and the street was simply called Hàng Bông. Other indus­tries and trades moved in. The first printing house in Hà Nội was established on Hàng Bông. In turn, this anchor industry prompted entrepreneurs to establish stationery shops whose descendants still sell their paper prod­ucts there.

Another entrepreneur, Mỹ Ký, fashioned Vietnam’s first costume jewelry on Hàng Bông by coating metal rings and bracelets with a yellow substance. Not all that glitters is gold, however. To this day, the term mỹ ký denotes cheap, imitative jewelry.

For a number of decades, an electric tramway ran the length of Hàng Bông. Like all of Hà Nội’s five tram routes,. the French-built express ran from a terminus near the north end of Hoàn Kiem Lake.

HÀNG BÚN (RICE NOODLES)

Phố Hàng Bún forms the northern border of Hà Nội’s Old Quarter. It stretches from the Yên Phụ dyke road to the northeastern corner of the Hà Nội Citadel. As with most streets in the Old Quarter, this street derives its name from what was the main occupation of its inhabitants: making rice noodles.

Hàng Bún Street became a flash point late in 1946. An unprovoked killing of a Vietnamese man there sparked hostilities that flared into full-blown war with the French.

HÀNG BUỒM (BOAT SAIL)

Phố Hàng Buồm derives its name from the street’s former primary business, the making and selling of boat sails from homemade can­vas. Why, you might wonder, did craftsmen on landlocked Hàng Buồm Street make sails for boats ?

Hàng Buồm was not always landlocked. In fact, until 1896 when the last portion of the Tô Lịch River was filled in, this street was near the confluence of the Tô Lịch and Hồng Rivers and hence a part of Giang Khầu (Estuary) Ward. Thus, the making of sails for the small boats that carried traders plying their wares along the Tô Lịch made perfect economic sense. Indeed, a stele erected near Bạch Mã Temple stands in testimony to the sail-making craft that was once the street’s economic mainstay.

Bạch Mã Temple also speaks to the history of Hà Nội. In the 9th Century, the temple was originally dedicated to the genie Long Đỗ. In 1010, however, when Emperor Lý Thái Tổ  moved the capital from Ninh Bình Province to Thăng Long (present-day Hà Nội), he changed the name of the temple. As legend has it, the king was having construction problems with his new citadel: its ramparts kept collapsing. One day the king saw a white horse (Bạch Mã) gallop out of Long Đỗ Temple and encircle his construction site. Emperor Lý Thái Tổ ordered that the ramparts be built following the path of the horse’s gallop.

Although fighting with the French troops who were reoccupying Hà Nội in late 1946/ early 1947 did not reach Hang Buồm, the street did serve as a refuge for the Hà Nội Militia. Many of the militia were youth for whom the fight­ing was a foray into adventure and romance. After skirmishing with French forces on near­by streets, they would retreat to Hàng Buồm Street for a night on the town, complete with French-made cigarettes and wine.

Before the Red (Hồng) River changed its course, it ran close to Hàng Chiếu Street. Thriving river transport enabled merchants to deliver mats made of rush or reed to nearby river wharves. These mats were so popular that they were sold before they could be trans­ported to market. Hence, the byway on which they were sold became known as Mat Products Street (Phố Hàng Chiếu).

When the French first arrived in Hà Nội, they planted a spy, disguised as a merchant, on Hàng Chiếu Street. Jean Dupuis gathered and passed information that enabled French forces to successfully attack and subsequently occu­py Hà Nội. The French named the street after their spy, Dupuis, but, understandably, the local continued to refer to it as Hàng Chiếu.

 In late 1946, when the French were again occupying Hà Nội, the Hà Nội Militia estab­ lished itself on Hàng Chiếu and offered stiff resistance to the better-equipped French troops for months.

 HÀNG ĐÀO

Running some 250 meters from the top of Hoàn Kiếm Lake, today’s Hàng Đào bears little resemblance to the street that got its name because it was the center of the silk trade in Hà Nội. From as early as the 15th Century, silk was being dyed (often peach color, hence the street’s name) and then traded on Hàng Đào. So thriving was the enterprise that the colorblind French called the street Rue de la Soie.

In the early 1900’s, Indian silk traders from Bombay established themselves in the area. They remained until the mid-1960’s when Hà Nội declined as a business center because of the American war.

HÀNG DẦU (VEGETABLE OIL)

Running a scant 100 meters, Phố Hàng Dầu is an extension of Hàng Bè Street. Today, on a street bedecked with racks of the latest in footwear, it is impossible to find the product that gave the street its name. In the days when vegetable oil was used for home lighting as well as cooking, however, peanut (groundnut) oil, linseed oil, and sesame oil were mainstays of the street’s economy.

HÀNG ĐIẾU (PIPES)

Phố Hàng Điếu derives its name from the original occupation of its merchants: the mak­ ling and selling of pipes. During the French colonial era, the street retained its name but, of course, in French, Rue des Pipes. In 1945, when the Hà Nội authorities restored its Vietnamese name, rhe main occupation on the street was making and selling clogs (wooden sandals).

HÀNG ĐƯỜNG (SUGAR)

This street gets its name from being in an area where fruits, especially apricots, were pre­served using a sweet/sour/salty recipe. Chinese immigrants who had emigrated from South China established the industry. It fell into decline when most of them left Hà Nội during the brief Sino-Viet conflict in 1979, taking their secret recipe with them.

Until the 1980’s, along this stretch of road that covers Hàng Đường, Hàng Đào, Hang Ngang, and Đồng Xuân Streets ran an electric tram service that extended from Hoàn Kiếm Lake through the Đồng Xuân Market to Yên Phụ, northeast of the market.

 HÀNG GIẦY (SHOES)

Cobblers were not the only craftsmen who established themselves on Hàng Giầy Street. They shared the street with weavers who specialized in making mosquito nets. For whatever inane reason, there was a class dis­tinction made between the two groups, and their society was stratified in a way that had the shoemakers looking down their noses at the net makers. The cobblers and their fami­lies lived street-side; the weavers were relegated to living off the street, down the nar­row alleys. In school, the cobblers’ kids probably sat in the front, the weavers’ children in the rear.

There was also a class division along the street. The more affluent residents, many of whom were aspiring immigrants, lived towards the southern end. Their poorer brethren huddled near the northern end where they hawked their sundry items at Đồng Xuân Market or worked as laborers there. Some of the south-enders were affluent silver­ smiths from nearby Hàng Bạc Street who bought houses in the upscale neighborhood. They even bought the local temple, Nội Miếu, rededicated it to their hometown genie, and renamed it Trâu Khê Vụng Sở (Praying toward Trau KheVillage).

By the time the French arrived in Hà Nội, the shoemaking business had begun to decline. The French named the northern section of the street Rue Lataste, the southern section Nguyễn Duy Hàn. The locals had another name for Hàn. They called him the Vietnamese traitor and spy. Hàn, a mandarin who had collaborated with the French, was assassinated by Phạm Văn Tràng in 1913. After the August 1945 Revolution, the Vietnamese authorities restored the original name to the street.

HÀNG GIẤY (PAPER)

This short street, an extension of Đồng Xuân Street, was originally named Phố Hàng Giấy because its merchants sold and traded domes­tically made paper products. Probably these products came from the market next to Cầu Giấy (PaperBridge) and were transported to the Old Quarter on the Tô Lịch River before it was filled in. During the French colonial era, the street retained its name, albeit in French, Rue du Papier.

After imported paper products became com­monplace in Hà Nội, the homemade paper market collapsed. Hàng Giấy and environs then became the entertainment mecca of Ha Noi for the French and affluent Hanoians.

A precursor to today’ s karaoke bar was estab­lished on Hang Giay. Houses and shops were transformed into ca trù parlors where a dis­tinctive style of classical opera was performed by beautiful singers called d đào (peaches). Ca trù parlors were particularly popular with the male clientele, who seemed to be more interested in the singer than the singing. These establishments became so popular that they spread to other parts of Hà Nội, notably, the notorious red light district of Khâm Thiên.

HÀNG KHAY (MOTHER-OF-PEARL INLAID)

Usually it requires more Vietnamese words than English words to convey the same meaning. This is one of the exceptions. Two simple words, "Hàng Khay," mean the pro­duction of lacquer works, especially trays, decorated with mother-of-pearl inlaid designs. This art was first established in Chuyên Mỹ Village, Hà Tây Province, not far from Hà Nội. In the late 18th Century, artisans from Chuyên Mỹ relocated in Hà Nội and set up shop along the southern banks of Hoàn Kiếm Lake. There they erected a temple in honor of Nguyen Kim, the inventor of the inlay technique.

Running only one long block along the lakeshore, Hàng Khay Street was once part of Rue de France and, before that Rue Paul Bert. At 3 Hàng Khay stands a three-story house that was built just after the French arrived and started naming streets in their own fashion.

 HÀNG KHOAI (POTATO)

Hàng Khoai Street derives its name from being the location in which potatoes and other tuber plants were sold. The market for this produce was still dominant when the French arrived. They retained the name, but gave it a French twist, Rue des Tubercules.

Hàng Khoai Street begins at the foot of Long Biên Bridge, a steel structure designed by French architect Gustave Eiffel, creator of the famous tower in Paris that bears his name. Of other historic interest is the Huyền Thiên Pagoda at 54 Hàng Khoai. It dates from at least the 17th Century and perhaps as early as the 13th.

During the intense combat that broke out in the Old Quarter between 19 December 1946 and 17 December, the fighting inside Đồng Xuân Market spilled over to neighboring Phố Hàng Khoai.

HÀNG MẮM (FISH SAUCE)

Before the Red (Hồng) River changed its course, Hàng Mắm Street ran to its riverbanks. The street’s location served as an ideal spot for receiving the rotting fish that were further fermented in barrels to produce a pungent fish sauce (nước mắm).

After the river shifted course and Phố Hàng Mắm became landlocked, a more durable industry was established in the area, the carv­ing of intricate gravestones.

HÀNG MUỐI (SALT)

This short street gets its name from being the center of the wholesale market for salt. Formerly the Hồng (Red) River ran close to Hàng Muối and the wharves that lined its banks. Bulk salt was offloaded and transport­ed to nearby Hàng Muối Street where it was traded. As the river receded, the salt trade moved elsewhere.

HÀNG NGANG

The origin of the name of this short, straight street is anything but straight forward. The area in which Hàng Ngang Street is located was originally settled by southern Chinese, who formed separate communities after they migrated. In ancient Hà Nội, the Fujians (Phúc Kiến) lived in one area where they con­cocted herbal medicines. The Cantonese set­tled nearby, but isolated themselves by clos­ing off their short, straight street with gates that were only opened during the daytime.

The Vietnamese word ngang has a variety of subtly different meanings. This word con­notes the idea of crossing or traversing, possibly even connecting, and the notion of "straight," be it vertical or horizontal. (For example, a railway crossing is đường ngang.) Thus, that short, straight stretch of road, set off from the rest of the street by those impos­ing gates, crossed over from one section of the street to another. To this day, the distinc­tion remains. Hàng Đào Street runs into Hàng Ngang which, sans gates, turns into Hàng Đường.

When the French arrived, they simply named the short stretch after its inhabitants. Thus, Phố Hàng Ngang became known as Rue des Cantonnais. After the French era, the street’s original name was reinstated.

Notwithstanding its Chinese character, Hàng Ngang Street has a special place in modern Vietnamese history. At 48 Hàng Ngang, just days after his forces liberated Ha Noi from the Japanese, Hồ Chí Minh, then known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, wrote Vietnam’s Declaration of Independence. He delivered it days later, on 2 September 1945, at Ba Đình Square.

HÀNG THÙNG (BARREL)

Hà Nội’s Hàng Thùng Street was once at river’s edge. Logs floated down the Hồng River were unloaded on the riverside wharf at the end of a street. Rather than transport the hefty logs, carpenters set about sawing them into more manageable planks, poles, and beams that would be used for housing con­struction. Shorter pieces of lumber were used for other purposes, one of which was the mak­ing of barrels.

Phố Hàng Thùng had its heyday at the begin­ning of the Nguyễn Dynasty (1802 - 1945). In 1805, Emperor Gia Long ordered that the Thăng Long Citadel be rebuilt. Rather than follow the original layout, however, the east­ern and western areas of the Citadel were reduced in size. Thus, not only was there con­struction and renovation within the Citadel (and consequently a high demand for building materials), new housing was also going up on its eastern and western flanks.

Rather than name the street after yet another of its countrymen, the French stayed with the homegrown name bestowed on the streets by its inhabitants, albeit with a distinction. The section nearest the river was called Rue Fou­tcheon to reflect the production of poles, planks, and beams there; the western section was named Rue des Seaux (the Street of Coopers or Barrel Makers).

When the Hồng River changed its course and veered toward the opposite bank, leaving Phố Hàng Thùng high and dry and landlocked, the lumber industry eventually moved to another location.

HÀNG TRE (BAMBOO)

Phố Hàng Tre derives its name from the busi­ness that was most common along this street, the selling and trading of bamboo. Originally at water’s edge, along the banks of the Hồng (Red) River, its location was ideal for receiv­ing the bamboo poles that had been floated downstream.

This location along the river also made it the ideal spot for the French to establish a pres­ence in Hà Nội. Arriving by ship, French colo­nials dropped anchor along the riverbanks and began making inroads into their future colony. They too called the street "bamboo," Rue des Bamboos. The only remnant of historic inter­est along Hàng Tre Street is the large building between Lò Sũ and Hàng Thùng Streets. Constructed late in the 19th Century, this building housed the first French Court of Justice. By 1906, it had been moved closer to Maison Centrale Prison on Hỏa Lò Street so "justice" could be meted out more directly.

HÀNG VÔI (LIMESTONE)

Today’s Hàng Vôi Street forms the middle section of a long route that ran parallel with the earthen wall/dyke that marked the eastern edge of Thăng Long Citadel. Hàng Tre and Tông Đản were its upper .and lower exten­sions. Being close to the wharves that lined the banks of the Hồng (Red) River, merchants in the area traded in goods offloaded nearby, bamboo poles for Hàng Tre and limestone for Hàng Vôi. The limestone, once dissolved, became whitewash that was used to paint walls in the Old Quarter.

Even before land was ceded to them by the Nguyễn Dynasty, the French got a foothold in this area. They called today’s Hàng Vôi and Tông Đản Streets Rue de la Chaux. At the cor­ner of Hàng Vôi and Lò Sũ, an office building that occupies most of the block provides a good example of French architecture at the turn of the 20th Century.

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