Hanoi will celebrate its 1,000th anniversary and 56th Liberation Day on
October 10, making it an ideal time for tourists to explore the city.
Sai Gon Tourist Company is offering typical tours to favourite
destinations in the north including the Hanoi-Autumn season, Ancient
citadels of Vietnam, Sa Pa and Ha Long in Autumn.
Annually, the HCM City-based travel agency organises seasonal tours –
Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter – to tourism sites throughout the
northern provinces.
But this year, the Hanoi-Autumn season
is seen as the most attractive programme as it coincides with the
city's millennium celebrations.
"We hope tourists will
have more chances to witness numerous cultural festivities in Hanoi
during autumn. It's a special time," said a marketing staff of the
company, Hoang Thuy Linh.
"The Hanoi-Autumn programme has
hosted around 12,000 tourists since early this year and hundreds of
foreigners have flocked to the city this season," Linh added.
She also said the capital had lured tourists with the season of fruits, com (young sticky rice) flake and cool weather.
The travel agency began preparing the tour last year to meet the increasing demand to visit Hanoi.
The four day and three night tour will depart from HCM City and wind
through the Trang An tourism site in Ninh Binh Province, Hanoi and Ha
Long Bay.
It costs 4.2 million VND (215 USD) per person.
After arriving in the capital, tourists will visit the four historic
temples of Bach Ma (White Horse); Linh Lang, or Voi Phuc (Crouching
Elephant); Tran Vu and Kim Lien – the homes of the four gods of the
former royal capital – before touring part of the Royal Thang Long
Citadel and the Temple of Literature.
A pedestrian route from the Quan Chuong Gate and exploring the city's Old Quarter will close the first tour day.
"Tourists will go shopping at the biggest whole sale market of Dong
Xuan in the middle of the Old Quarter, which is a symbol of the ancient
capital," said head of the agency's Hanoi office Nguyet Nga.
The centre of Hanoi will be the main visit for the tour second day with
a visit to sites around Hoan Kiem (Returned Sword) Lake such as Ngoc
Son Temple and turtle tower.
"The lake is also the heart
of Hanoi and visitors can experience a quiet moment as they walk around
the lake and see the trees in the autumn.
The most visited
places during the day are buildings dating back to the French colonial
times including 1902-built Long Bien Bridge; the Opera House built in
1911 and 1931-constructed Museum of Vietnamese history.
The existence of buildings provides real samples of the capital's varied history.
Travellers can ask tour guides to take them to the night market, which
opens at 7pm and closes at midnight in Hang Ngang and Hang Dao streets,
which were the former silk trading centre of ancient town.
The third day will start with a two-hour visit to the Ho Chi Minh
Mausoleum and One Pillar Pagoda before going to Ha Long Bay – the World
Natural Heritage Site.
The seasonal programme also includes the vestiges of ancient imperial cities in a trip to the ancient capitals.
According Sai Gon Tourist's marketing section, Doan Thi Thanh Tra, the
tour offers visits to the former capitals of Hue, Hoa Lu in Ninh Binh,
Co Loa and the UNESCO recognised Thang Long Royal citadel in Hanoi.
"We have intentionally arranged destinations in a combined tour, to
help tourists gain a deeper understanding of Vietnamese history," Tra
explained.
"The destinations are quite well-known to
Vietnamese people, but we link a string of citadels that were built from
the country's foundation to the current capital."
Arriving in Hanoi on the morning flight, tourists will take a visit to
Co Loa spiral Citadel, which was built in the third century BC.
From Thang Long Royal Citadel in Hanoi, visitors will return to
country's former capital of Hoa Lu in Ninh Binh Province – 100km south
of Hanoi – in 968-1010.
"Hoa Lu was a capital nearly half
century before it was moved to Hanoi by King Ly Thai To. The route will
provide a real historical story of the former capital at Hoa Lu and
Hanoi today," Tra explained.
The former imperial capital of Hue will be the last place visited on the fourth day.
A night cruise on the Huong River with folk music will help people
relax prior to their departure for peaceful mind for HCM City.
Visit www.saigontourist.net for more information./.
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