Imperial Citadel of Thang Long - Hanoi

Imperial Citadel of Thang Long - Hanoi

The Imperial Citadel of Thang Long is located in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, and served as a unique convergence point of human culture, sculpture, architecture, construction techniques, urban planning, and landscaping artistry for an uninterrupted period of 1,000 years. The heritage site reflects the historical legacy from the pre-Thang Long period in the 7th century through the Thang Long and Hanoi periods up to the 19th century, with many historical relics and cultural layers overlapping quite continuously across various eras.

Architectural remains include foundations, column bases, brick wall segments, road sections, paved brick or cobblestone flooring, along with traces of drainage systems, wells, the “Royal Moat,” lotus ponds, and more—displaying the grand scale and tangible features of the ancient Imperial Citadel of Thang Long. A large quantity of diverse artifacts have been excavated here, such as plain bricks, decorative bricks, floor tiles, wall tiles, tubular roof tiles, tile ends, backing tiles, column stones, several sections of ironwood pillars, court items, jewelry, Vietnamese ceramics from different periods, Chinese ceramics, Japanese Hizen ceramics, Middle Eastern ceramics, copper coins of various reigns, “Shen Gong” cannons, swords, knives, arrowheads, and more—some of which are rare or were unearthed for the first time. The Imperial Citadel of Thang Long reflects a distinctive culture that emerged under the mutual influence of China and the ancient kingdom of Champa to the south.

Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long - Hanoi Must-visit reason: Vietnam’s most uniquely cultural heritage site