(VOVWORLD) - An exhibition entitled "Sword Lake: East-West Intersection" has opened in downtown Hanoi, depicting how Vietnam’s capital changed from the late 19th to the early 20th centuries, The exhibition features 22 landscape drawings and over 100 pictures and documents from National Archives Centre, showing Hanoi’s transition from Oriental toward European, from traditional toward modern.
 The exhibition evokes memories of Hanoi. (Photo: VOV) |
Stepping into the exhibition at the Ho Guom Cultural Information Center on Le Thai To street, visitors are confronted with a large black and white photo of Sword Lake in the period of 1873-1884.
According to documents from National Archives Center 1, Sword Lake at that time was like a rural pond serving people’s daily needs. Around the lake were huts so close to one another that to get to the lake people had to squeeze through narrow alleys. Those huts and crowded alleys have now been transformed into two broad streets flanking the lake – Hang Khay street and Dinh Tien Hoang street.
The exhibition is divided into three sections: Sword Lake's transformation; the preservation of Sword Lake's cultural and historical space; and Sword Lake as a center of service, culture, and entertainment.
“The exhibition is a rare opportunity for me to further explore the heritage, history, and traditions of Hanoi through old documents and photos,” said Historian Tran Doan Lam said he discovered many interesting historical documents at this exhibition.
Sword Lake, a remnant of the ancient Nhi Ha river, is famously scenic. As soon as they arrived, the French colonists made the lake the center of their efforts to renovate the capital. As a result, Sword Lake has become an intersection of Eastern and Western architecture and culture.
The look of a European metropolis overlaying the traditional habits of the city’s inhabitants has given the Hanoian lifestyle a more modern feel, and Sword Lake has become the city’s centre of administration, religion, trade, services, culture, and entertainment.
“The phrase ‘East-West intersection’ reflects the crossing of Oriental and Western culture and highlights the difference before and after the French colonialists came to Vietnam. The architecture around Sword Lake reveals the contrast. We chose this exhibition theme to evoke memories of Hanoi, especially Sword Lake,” said Tran Thi Mai Huong, Head of National Archives Centre 1.
 (Photo: VOV) |
The documents and photos on display were chosen to transport visitors back to the past. Some visitors are powerfully moved to see how Hanoi has changed over time.
“I’ve lived a block away from Sword Lake for 70 years. To me, the lake is like a second home. I feel very moved looking at documents and photos that remind me of the old days of Hanoi, of things that have been lost in the modern time,” photographer Nguyen Huu Bao said.
Tran Thi Thuy Lan, deputy head of the management board of Hoan Kiem Lake and Old Quarter, said, “We hope that through the exhibition, visitors will learn about the French colonial period in Hanoi. Many French architectural works are still standing in the area around Sword Lake. This exhibition encourages people to preserve these and other Hanoi heritages.”
The exhibition will run until October 31 and then be promoted at city schools to raise awareness of Hanoi’s cultural heritages.