Co Loa Citadel to become a historical-ecological park in near future

Located near Phong Khe, about 20km to the North of today’s Hanoi, Co Loa Citadel was built during 257 BCE after Thuc Phan defeated the last ruler - Hung King XVIII of Hong Bang Dynasty and ascended to the throne as King An Duong and chose the site Co Loa as his new capital of Au Lac kingdom – the ancient Vietnamese state. 

Co Loa citadel is the most ancient building, with large scale and the most unique structure in construction of ramparts of the Vietnamese. The site consists of two outer sets of ramparts and a citadel on the inside, of rectangular shape. It also contains the colorful legends during early periods of Vietnam’s establishment.

Hence, with the aim to develop the site into a historical, ecological and humane park, on 15 August 2012, it’s said Vietnam Prime Minister has recently approved a master plan on preservation and restoration of Co Loa Citadel.

Under the plan, Co Loa Citadel will become a national historical-cultural relic site and one of the main parks in Hanoi, which will cover about 860ha in Co Loa, Duc Tu, Viet Hung and Uy No communes of suburban Dong Anh district. The follow-up steps will include the conducting of a survey of the projected area and identification of major values of Co Loa Citadel in the national relic system.

Solutions to preserve the architectural feature of tangible heritages, including three wall-layers of the citadel, gates, communal houses, temples and other inner venues, will be included. In addition to that are solutions to use the relic space for tourism and improve the living condition of residents in the area.

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Vietnam Jeep Tours offers a biking excursion to escape from bustling Hanoi to outskirt area, through agricultural villages, rice fields for meeting up with local friendly people and interesting visits at relics of ancient Co Loa citadel, King An Duong’s temple.

For more details & information, please email Vietnam Jeep Tours at adventure@vietnamjeeptours.com or call Vietnam Jeep Tours’ hotline +84 909 60 23 70. 

Hue – an amazing ancient citadel of Vietnam

Situated on the Northern bank of the Perfume River, with an area of 500 ha and a system of three circles of ramparts, namely from outside to inside: Kinh Thanh (Capital Citadel), Hoang Thanh (Royal Citadel) and Tu Cam Thanh (Forbidden Citadel).

Culture

Hue is one of the main cultural, religious and educational centers of Vietnam. So far, Hue remains to be the only originally historical vestiged city in Vietnam. Many of Hue’s attractions are found along the banks of the romantically named Perfume River with 11 km length. This valuable construction includes more than 100 architectural works, which are the reflection of the life of Emperors and mandarins under Nguyen’s reign.


Architecture in Hue is the combination of royal architect, folk, religious ones, traditional and modern sides. On the north bank of the river is the Imperial Citadel, built along the line of Peking’s Forbidden City, enclosed by 10-meter thick walls and surrounded by a moat. A few kilometers further up the river are perhaps Hue’s best-known religious site. Inside the citadel, there are still royal remnants such as the seat of the Nguyen emperors occupying a large, walled area on the north side of the river. Inside the citadel, it was a forbidden city where only the concubines, emperors, and those close enough to them were granted access, the punishment for trespassing was death penalty.


Situated in the middle of the hills on the Southern bank of Perfume River are very beautiful tombs of Nguyen Kings. Among these tombs are the four famous ones with the name and the arrangements of the tomb reflecting each Emperor’s points of view, personality, and tastes. This is majestic Gia Long tomb, imposing Minh Mang tomb, poetic Tu Duc tomb and magnificent Khai Dinh tomb. No architects who would like to discover ancient architecture of Vietnam could ignore Hue’s old citadel vestiges.


Citadel Complex of Hue 


The Hue capital citadel started to be constructed in 1805 under the reign of Emperor Gia Long and was completed in 1832 under the sovereignty of Emperor Ming Mang. Over the past 200 years, it has still maintained original with nearly 140 small and large constructions.

With a square shape, it is almost 10 km in circumference, 6m high, 21m thick, with 10 entrances. On the top of the walls, 24 bastions are established for defensive purposes. Besides, the Citadel has an ancillary gate connecting the Tran Binh Bastion called the Tran Binh Mon (Peaceful protector Gate). The Hoang Thanh (Royal citadel), also the most important part of the Citadel, which was built in 1804 but totally completed in 1833, under King Ming Mang’s reign.

The Citadel, which is more than 600m long for each side, was built with bricks of 4m high, and 1m thick. Around the citadel is a protecting trench system. Tourists can get access to the Imperial Citadel through four entrance gates. In the past, Ngo Mon Gate was only reserved for the King. Royal Citadel consists of more than 100 fascinating architectural works.
Passing through Hoang Thanh is the Tu Cam Thanh (Forbidden Citadel), which situated inside the Imperial Citadel complex, behind the Throne Palace, the Purple Forbidden Citadel was reserved for Emperor and his family. Built in the early 1803 under reign of Emperor Gia Long, it was initially named Cung Thanh. In 1821, it was renamed into the today’s Tu Cam Thanh.

Religion
Hue is also an important center of Buddhism. In Hue and the surroundings still exists tens of pagodas constructed more than 300 years ago, and a hundred of temples and pagodas built in the early century. Thien Mu Pagoda with its distinctive seven-storey octagonal tower.

Thien Mu Pagoda (namely Heaven Fairy Lady Pagoda), also known as Linh Mu Pagoda, is one of the most fascinating and ancient pagoda in Hue city. It is situated on Ha Khe hill, on the north bank of the Perfume River, in Huong Long village, 5 kilometers from Hue city, which is easy to reach from the city center. The beautiful pagoda was built in 1601. Later on, several kings of the Nguyen Dynasty such as Gia Long, Minh Mang, Thieu Tri and Thanh Thai, all had the pagoda restored. The most striking feature of the pagoda, Phuoc Duyen tower (initially called Tu Nhan tower), was erected in 1884 by King Thieu Tri, and has become the unofficial symbol of Hue. This octagonal tower has seven storeys (2m high), which is dedicated to a Buddha who appeared in human form. It is the highest stupa in Vietnam, and is often the subject of folk rhymes about Hue, such is its iconic status and association with the city. More importantly, it is regarded as the unofficial symbol of the former imperial capital.

To the left of the tower is a pavilion sheltering an enormous bell, called Dai Hong Chung, and was cast in 1710 by Lord Nguyen Phuc Chu. It is famous for the great size, which is 2.5m high and 3,285 kg weigh. It is considered to be an outstanding achievement of 18th century bronze casting.
To the right of the tower is a pavilion containing a stela dated from 1715. It is set on the back of a massive marble turtle, a symbol of longevity, and is 2.58 m high.


Royal Music

A lot of foreign tourists are curious about Hue’s ritual royal music. Originated from eight kinds of ritual music under Le dynasty, under Nguyen dynasty, it has improved into 2 kinds of music: “Dai nhac” and “Nha nhac”, which are really magnificent, and skillful. Those are only played on formal occasions. This city is proud to be the cadral of traditional music. The Royal Refined Music was proclaimed by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on December 1993.

 (Source: VGP) 

Should you are interested in witnessing Hue’s Citadel and explore other hidden corners of charming Hue , email Vietnam Jeep Tours at adventure@vietnamjeeptours.com or call +84 909620370.
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 Related programs to Hue & around:
Full day discover the rural of Mekong Delta by Jeep 
Biking to explore My Tho ( Mekong Delta)
Full day - Explore Mekong Delta by Motorbikes
2 days 1 night explore Rural Mekong Delta on Motorcycles
2 days 1 night pedal into the Heart of Mekong Delta
3 days 2 nights Bird- watching at Tram Chim National Park of Mekong Delta
3 days Deep into Mekong Delta ( Motorbike Tours)
5 Days Deep into Mekong Delta by Motorbike 
5 Days Loop of Mekong Delta on bikes
6 days discover Mekong Delta and Phu Quoc island 

BINH TA ARCHAEOLOGICAL VESTIGES IN LONG AN PROVINCE (MEKONG DELTA)

If travelling to Long An Province, you shouldn’t miss a visit to Binh Ta Archaeological Vestiges for a chance to admire the remnants of the Oc Eo-Phu Nam culture dating back from the first to seventh centuries.

The vestiges are situated in Binh Ta Hamlet, Duc Hoa Ha Commune, Duc Hoa District, Long An Province. Binh Ta’s architectural and archaeological vestiges including Go Xoai, Go Don and Go Nam Tuoc can be found 40km north-east of the town of Tan An in Long An Province.

Architectural works discovered in Binh Ta’s vestiges are considered to be dedicated to the Siva Deity of Brahmanism which appeared in India around the first century BC and was introduced to southern Indochina at the beginning of the Christian era.


Go Xoai Temple at a depth of 1.7 to 1.9m is considered a one-time celebration place of the Phu Nam people. On a collection of 26 gold objects discovered in Go Xoai, there are thin gold leaves with sentences of Buddhist sutra written in the ancient Sanskrit language. Other valuable objects were also excavated here. There are pieces of Oc Eo pottery, metal, precious stones, sandstone and a series of other relics from primitive man discovered around the temple. 


Go Nam Tuoc monument is built of bricks, 17.2m in length, 11.1m in width; its the upper part was lost but its foundation is still characterized by the features of Oc-Eo cultural architecture such as: the angle structure, very straight brick foundation lines, and the semicircular three-door temple gate towards the East, which the base of affirmation that this is a temple architecture of Hinduism. 


Go Don Sanctuary is a temple-tower architecture built of bricks, 78.5m in East-West length, 60m in width (North-South direction); before being excavated, the whole architecture had been in the earth’s womb; 0.4m is the nearest position to the earth’s surface. Many stone objects on display such as the statue of Dvarapala genie (Temple Guard Genie), the statue of Ganesa Genie’s head (Blessing Genie), many objects of worship including Linga, Yoni, Mi, the door carved the designs of flowers and leaves, the holy water condiut (Somasutra) and old pottery objects were collected from the ``excavation. In the worship hole, the vestige center is 3m in depth, there is a sacred object “Broken Yoni” and are a lot pebbles reckoned as worship stone. 


Most of the works were constructed for religious purposes, but at the same time played a role as a cultural and political centre of the ancient state. Hence, it can be said that Binh Ta Vestiges are the large-scale site of archaeological remnants in the Oc Eo culture. Should you are interested in like-no-other guided expeditions to discover mystic Binh Ta Archaeological Vestiges and other hidden corners of charming Mekong Delta , email Vietnam Jeep Tours at adventure@vietnamjeeptours.com or call +84 909620370. 


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 Related programs to Long An Province & Further in Mekong Delta: 


Full Day Discover the rural of Mekong Delta by Jeep 
Biking to explore My Tho (Mekong Delta) 
Full Day - Explore Mekong Delta by Motorbikes 
2 Days 1 Night Explore Rural Mekong Delta on Motorcycles 
2 Days - 1 Night Pedal into The Heart of Mekong Delta 
3 Days 2 Nights Bird-Watching at Tram Chim National Park of Mekong Delta 
3 Days Deep into Mekong Delta (Motorbike Tours) 
5 Days Deep into Mekong Delta by Motorbike 
5 Days Loop of Mekong Delta on Bikes 
6 Days Discover Mekong Delta and Phu Quoc Island

PRISTINE WHITE WATERFALL IN QUANG NGAI PROVINCE

Located in Thanh An Commune of Minh Long District, about 23kms South-West from the center of Quang Ngai City, White Waterfall is a must-see attraction for travellers when exploring Central Vietnam. The best way to reach White Waterfall is by motorbikes.

We climb over the Wind Waist Pass and admire the peaceful beauty of gentle Ve river and cottages on riversides then the amazing view of Ethnic Minority Hre’s Village with stilt-houses nestled slopes, tea farms, and terraced paddies come to our sight as a signal that we are close to the Waterfall.

 Tucked in the magnificent Truong Son Mountain Range, White Waterfall is surrounded by an area of huge mountains and hills painted with the green color of trees, fresh and quiet. From a height of over 40 meters, the fall is like a fairy tossing her long hair in the wind. At two sides of the fall, there are lots of Doat trees that Hre people make its juice as the yeast for their special Doat wine.
Climbing to the fall upstream, we have to follow a rocky jungle trail with a deep abyss at one edge. Higher we hike more risks we may get. Then all the hard work will be paid off as we reach the top and witness the amazing panorama that will unfold in front of our view. Reaching the top is already a victory in itself, but setting sight of the wonderful scene stretched out is another experience worth taking pride in. However, this hard trekking is only recommended for advance trekkers with necessary gear.

 For light hikers, walk down to the foot of the White Waterfall to meet up with two natural lakes. Each lake is hundreds of square meters in size with clear water in which you can enjoy swimming or fishing. After swimming or fishing, having a noon snap in a hammock in the middle of jungle and near the fall is really ideal. The White Waterfall is well-known to local people but not so tourists and that’s why this attraction still remains completely intact. As a result, there is no service for tourists here, hence, if you plan a day trip to discover White Waterfall of Quang Ngai by yourself, do not forget to bring food, beverage and first-aid kit with you on the trip.

 Should you are looking for an guided journey to unspoiled White Waterfall , email Vietnam Jeep Tours at adventure@vietnamjeeptours.com or call +84 909620370.

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 Related programs to Quang Ngai Pronvince:
 BBC Top Gear Style: 8 Days Hard-core Motorbike from Ho Chi Minh City to Halong Bay 
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Majestic Hotel To Expand New Hotel Complex

Saigon Tourist Company plans to invest VND1, 900 billion (US$92 million) in expanding the old Majestic Hotel in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City.

Two 24 and 27 storey buildings with a total of 353 rooms and four basements will form the expansion plan.

The old Majestic Hotel built in 1925 in French architectural style and recognized by the Viet Nam National Administration for Tourism (VNAT) as a 5-star hotel in 2007, will remain unchanged and will preserve its heritage status.

The old hotel has 185 rooms and along with 353 rooms in the new hotel complex, the majestic hotel will offer a total 538 guest rooms. The new complex will be fully operational by 2014.

For more information about the hotel, you can visit http://www.majesticsaigon.com.vn/ or contact Email: sales@majesticsaigon.com.vn.

Gleaming And Beautiful Sight Of Perfume River

For a long time, Huế has been famous for many beautiful and ancient landscapes, and one of them is the Perfume River.

Perfume River flows mildly like a silk range and leads to Vỹ Dạ garden, Thiên Mụ pagoda, Bạch Yến River and Huyền Không pier one after another. All of these four destinations are magnificent, peaceful and ancient.

Along with those beautiful and romantic scenes, Huế is also famous for many pleasure activities, which are very interesting such as “Releasing boat”, “Playing with the moon”, “Huế singing”, “Sleeping on boat” and “Playing with verse, all these activities are associated with Perfume River and only have in Huế.

“Sleeping on the boat” is just a name, since nobody come to the boats for sleeping but only for enjoying the cool wind, watching the moon and the sky and listening to the beautiful songs.

“Playing with verse” is a literary gamble, which enquires players to be very intelligent as well as to have good plans and strategies. The interesting point of the game is that players cannot only make use of all knowledge about literature that they have but also learn many new things from others.

Huế singing is originated from the combination of traditional music and royal music. This elegant and attractive kind of music is really worth listening. Tourists would have a chance to sit on the imperial boats that kings and lords used to be seated in the old time.

In the hold of the boat, there is an imposing orchestra includes nearly all kinds of Vietnamese traditional musical instruments.

The bandsmen as well as the singers are still very young, and they all wear “áo dài”, the Vietnamese traditional clothes. On the prow of the boats, there is a wide and airy space for enjoying the moonlight and the fresh air.

When the night falls down, Perfume River becomes more fantastic. The lamplight spreads on the river just like silver. The winds blow softly and the boat floats slowly. Everything makes travelers feel so peaceful.

In the distance across the river, Thiên Mụ pagoda appears vaporously, Phước Duyên tower looks like being laminated with the moonlight. The scene is so charming and romantic.

Having a night on Perfume River, listening to Huế singing and enjoying the fresh cool air along with the beautiful scenes around, tourists would discover some feelings that could only be found in Huế.

For more information about Huế, click here or contact via adventure@vietnamjeeptours.com or phone: +84 8 6290 6577 or hotline: +84 909 602 370.

About accommodation in Huế, please click here.

Related programs to Huế:
Hue - Paddling the Perfume River (3 Days 2 Nights)
3 Days Ancient Royal City Discovery
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3 Days - 2 Nights True Local Experience

25 Days Grand Adventure With Vietnam Jeep Tours

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 26 July 2011, Vietnam Jeep Tours (VJT) has launched grand adventure in Vietnam for the adventure passionate.

Almost a month journey starts in Hanoi capital and end at Saigon, covering most of exotic destinations of Vietnam, the mountainous Northwest with colourful ethnic tribes, ancient historical Hue and Hoi An of the centre and down to the Mekong delta discovering lives on the water and finally experience the bustling Saigon once named as pearl of the orient.

If one wonders what can be done in 25 day time the answer is all the activities you can think of and it is a long list of enjoyment: culture discovery and home stay at locals’ houses, adventure activities of all types: trekking, biking, cruising, kayaking, paddling, snorkelling, travelling on army Jeeps etc. all sort of things that we can hardly make it in our busy daily lives.

The trip is set to be a private and can be done at any time of the year. Details can be found at 25 Days Vietnam Expedition or contact at adventure@vietnamjeeptours.com / phone: (+ 84) 8 629 06577 or hotline (+84) 909 602 370.

About Vietnam Jeep Tours (VJT)

Organizer of adventure tours in Vietnam, featuring various types of activities including Jeep, motor biking, cycling, trekking, and culture exploration in Vietnam.

VJT was the first company introduced used Jeep to international travellers, transforming the image of vehicles left from the war to a symbol of fun, friendly and active travel experience. Details of company and travel offers please visit www.vietnamjeeptours.com

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