HOAN KIEM LAKE-HANOI

One day not long after the Chinese has accepted their defeat over Vietnam, King Le Loi found the handle of a sword in a banyan tree.Around that time a fisherman discovered a blade of a sword stuck in his fishing net. This sword was engraved: ‘The Will of Heaven’, which had come from the Dragon King who lived in the underwater palace.Once the handle and sword were matched up, this sword gave Le Loi magical powers that made him very tall and gave him extraordinary strength. While Le Loi was boating one day, a large turtle emerged stealing his magical sword and then diving back down to the depths. Even after a massive search the sword was never seen again. Le Loi accepted that the sword had gone back to The Dragon King and renamed the lake in honor of that.On a cold winters night one can imagine this is a place where legends are made.This turtle does not only have the magical sword in question, but also carries a book. This is a mix of Taoist Symbolism and Confucian beliefs.

In the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake is a structure that was built around 1886 by a Vietnamese mandarin who secretly wanted to bury his father in this auspicious location. Unfortunately for him, others found out and his father’s body was removed.In the days of the French rule, on top of Turtle Tower stood the French version of ‘the Statue of Liberty’. That statue was happily destroyed in 1945 when Hanoi and Vietnam was finally returned to its rightful owners.Just the shell of Turtle Tower remains today and is a symbol of peace and patriotism; plus honors the magical turtle that guards Le Loi’s sword forever more.
The land around the tower is the nesting ground for turtles and a nice safe haven for them to bask in the sun.

Hoan Kiem Lake is known for huge turtles (Ho Guom variety), if you are very lucky you might get to see one emerge, this is a sign of good luck. It is a huge lake, so how you know they are there, is when hundreds of people are in a mob at the water’s edge desperately trying to get that lucky glimpse.Last time one was seen was in on the 8th of December 2007. It is thought that one or more of these huge turtles call Hoan Kiem Lake their home, smaller turtles are often seen since people have released them to bring them good fortune.To see one of these big babies up close and in person, is to see a stuffed one. One is housed in a side room at Ngoc Son Temple. Inside a glass cabinet is a 2.1 meters long and 1.2 meters long wide. Weighing in at 250kg, it was found in 1968 and said to be 500 years old. Now, doesn’t this give our Lake of the Restored Sword Legend some credibility?

When you first see Hoan Kiem Lake, you will probably think ‘It’s Green !’, you will be right and relieved to know that this is caused by copper deposits in the soil. It has always been green and was once called Luc Thuy, which means green water lake.