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Vietnam: 'Indochine en 1903: Tonkin - Hanoi, le petit Lac'. Indochina in 1903: Tonkin - Hanoi, the small lake (Ho Hoan Kiem) looking at Den Ngoc Son (Jade Mountain Temple)

Vietnam: 'Indochine en 1903: Tonkin - Hanoi, le petit Lac'. Indochina in 1903: Tonkin - Hanoi, the small lake (Ho Hoan Kiem) looking at Den Ngoc Son (Jade Mountain Temple)

Den Ngoc Son, or ‘Jade Mountain Temple’ is one of the most revered religious complexes in the capital. Established by the scholarly mandarin Nguyen Van Sieu (1799–1872) appropriate symbols of learning and literature mark the temple complex.

Ho Hoan Kiem means ‘Lake of the Restored Sword’, a body of water that lies at the heart of Hanoi. Until the 15th century it was called Luc Thuy or ‘Green Water’. Legend has it that during the Ming occupation (1407-28), General Le Loi was presented with a magical sword by a divine turtle that lived in the waters. With the help of this sword, Le Loi expelled the Chinese from northern Vietnam and established himself as Emperor Le Thai To. Later, when the emperor was sailing on the lake, the turtle rose to the surface and reclaimed the sword. Ever since it has been known as Ho Hoan Kiem.

東法會, Dōng fǎ huì - French Indochina (French: Indochine française; Vietnamese: Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, frequently abbreviated to Đông Pháp) was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin (North), Annam (Central), and Cochinchina (South), as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887. Laos was added in 1893 and Kouang-Tchéou-Wan in 1900.

The capital was moved from Saigon (in Cochinchina) to Hanoi (Tonkin) in 1902. During World War II, the colony was administered by Vichy France and was under Japanese occupation. Beginning in May 1941, the Viet Minh, a communist army led by Ho Chi Minh, began a revolt against French rule known as the First Indochina War. In 1954, after its defeat at Dien Bien Phu, France withdrew permanently from all parts of Indochina.

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