Remembering the gates of Hanoi

TPO - On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the capital (October 10, 1954 - October 10, 2024), the National Archives Center I (Department of State Records and Archives) in coordination with the Thang Long - Hanoi Heritage Conservation Center and the Hanoi Department of Home Affairs will organize an exhibition of archival documents with the theme "Hanoi and the gates" at the Thang Long Imperial Citadel heritage site.

Hanoi with 36 streets and 5 gates has been deeply engraved in the minds of many generations of Vietnamese people. The gate - a unique and distinct name only found in Hanoi, opened at the junction with the Red River, functioned as a trading gate and was carefully guarded. However, through the ups and downs of history, the ancient gates of the capital have gradually faded into memory. The story of Hanoi's gates is a fascinating content, closely linked to the history of the thousand-year-old cultural land of Thang Long - Hanoi.

Uncle Ho met with people's representatives when he returned to take over the capital, October 1954.

Exhibition of Hanoi and its gates.

Stemming from that meaning, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Capital, the Hanoi and the city gates exhibition aims to recreate the history of Hanoi's city gates, providing the most vivid and intuitive perspective on the social life activities around the city gates and the disappearance of most of the city gates in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In addition, the Exhibition also introduces the process of taking over the capital Hanoi (October 10, 1954) and the development steps of the capital after the country's reunification until now. The Exhibition's materials are taken from historical sources, maps, drawings, images, documents written in Han Nom and French languages stored at the French School of the Far East in Hanoi (EFEO), the Institute of Social Science Information, the National Archives Center I and the Hanoi City Historical Archives Center.

Cau Den Gate in the late 19th century, now the intersection of Bach Mai - Dai Co Viet - Hue streets.

A market meeting in the past at O Quan Chuong gate.

Exhibition of Hanoi and its gates with 200 documents and images introduced in 3 topics. Topic 1 with the content of Ancient gates - introduces the history of the formation of the gates of Thang Long - Hanoi, the architecture, role, function of Hanoi's gates, the changes in names and number of gates in each period. Under the influence of the French in the planning process of Hanoi in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Hanoi's gates were gradually destroyed. Quan Chuong gate is the only remaining evidence to this day, marking the existence and shape of the gates of ancient Thang Long - Hanoi.

Doctor Tran Duy Hung, Vice Chairman of the Military and Government Committee, waves to the people on the day of the Capital's liberation, October 10, 1954.

People of Hanoi capital welcome military units to take over the capital, October 10, 1954.

Theme 2 with the content of Victory Gate tells the historical story of the event when Uncle Ho's troops and soldiers of the Capital Regiment marched from the old gates to take over Hanoi in October 1954. Especially the Victory Flag Salute Ceremony at the Flagpole Stadium on October 10, 1954 with the participation of military units taking over the city...

Major General Vuong Thua Vu, Chairman of the Military and Political Committee, read President Ho Chi Minh's appeal to the people of the Capital, October 10, 1954.

Topic 3 with the content of Hanoi's Gate today depicts the development and changes of Hanoi after 70 years of taking over the capital. Currently, Hanoi is increasingly expanding with spaces and planning worthy of its stature, making the capital increasingly develop in the process of industrialization and modernization of the country.