A unique portrait of Vietnam's oldest capital city. Described by the author as 'a tribute of love', HANOI OF A THOUSAND YEARS is an enthralling chronicle of how Hanoi developed from a tribal trading post to a feudal kingdom, its Old Town spreading from the imperial citadel as villages moved their craftsmen to the new capital. With a keen grasp of history, journalist and travel writer Carol Howland leads us through these thousand-year-old lanes, one by one, and strolls with us around Hanoi's picturesque lake, relating how its surroundings evolved over a thousand years. She shows us through Hanoi's thousand-year-old university temple, predating those in Europe and recounts how the French so dramatically changed the face of Hanoi. We also wander through the sites relating to Ho Chi Minh and Vietnam's struggle for independence, not forgetting the subtleties of Hanoi's iconic noodle soup, pho. This history-lite exploration of Hanoi is recorded through the fascinating stories of the historic figures who lived it. A book that starts where guidebooks end.