Dich PDF.qxp - Vietnam Airlines

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Hanoi gears up for a
celebration of its
1,000th anniversary in
October, the landmark
Sofitel Legend Metropole
Hanoi is set to usher visitors
through 1,000 years of the
capital's history over the
past decades.
In coordination with
Exotissimo, a leading
inbound tour operator, the
excursion begins in the first
decade of the 11th century
with a visit to the Temple
of Literature, founded in
1070, and concludes in
the first decades of the
20th century, visiting Ba Dinh
Square, where President Ho Chi
Minh declared the nation's independence
on September 2, 1945.
The three-night, four-day package
includes a three-night stay at
the Sofitel Legend Metropole
Hanoi, four guided tours and multiple
dining opportunities.
The Hanoi 1000 Initiative won
additional impetus for develop-
ESCORTing GUESTS THROUGH
MILENNIUM
ment last month after UNESCO put
the city's imperial assets on its World
Heritage List. The Thang Long Royal
Citadel is Vietnam's 6th World
Heritage site recognised by
UNESCO.
Water puppet shows and concerts
reference the first decade of
the 12th century when Thay
(Teacher's) pagoda was founded
and where water puppetry earned
its stripes as a cultural institution.
One of Hanoi 1000's
most compelling surveys
will investigate the architectural
legacy of the colonial
French in Vietnam,
from the Long Bien Bridge
to the History Museum to
the 1901-built Metropole
hotel.
Referencing the 1400s,
Hanoi 1000 shepherds visitors
through a warren of
streets that established
themselves as the '36
Streets' with one specific
guild doing business on
each street.
The three-night, four-day package
will be in effect from October
1, 2010. The cost is US $821 per
person, based on double occupancy
in the Metropole's historic old
wing. The cost includes guiding services
by a professor of history.
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