Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of and Yen Giang Stake-yard · 268 km from Hanoi

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of

   In 1010 the Vietnamese king Lý Thái Tổ moved his capital to the banks of the Red River and named it Thăng Long, Ascending Dragon, after he is said to have seen a dragon rising from the water. The city grew up around the royal citadel, and for most of the next eight centuries it was the political heart of Vietnam. The Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long, in the middle of modern Hanoi, preserves layers of this history, from the foundations of palaces excavated beneath the ground to buildings of the Nguyễn dynasty and the French colonial era. It was listed by UNESCO in 2010, the year Hanoi celebrated its thousandth anniversary.

   Read the complete Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of is where the day begins. Next is Kiep Bac Temple.

2. 2. Kiep Bac Temple

   Kiếp Bạc is the place where Vietnam remembers Trần Hưng Đạo, the thirteenth-century general who defeated the Mongols three times. In the 1280s, the armies of Kublai Khan's empire invaded Vietnam, and Trần Hưng Đạo, commanding the forces of the Trần dynasty, used guerrilla tactics, retreat and ambush to wear them down. The most famous victory came in 1288 on the Bạch Đằng river, when he planted iron-tipped stakes in the riverbed and lured the Mongol fleet onto them at low tide. He died in 1300, and the temple at Kiếp Bạc was built where he is said to have had his base.

   Read the complete Kiep Bac Temple write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Kiep Bac Temple comes up about 64 km into the recorded legs. Next is Yen Giang Stake-yard.

3. 3. Yen Giang Stake-yard

   Twice in Vietnamese history, the tide at the mouth of the Bạch Đằng river decided the fate of the country. In 938, Ngô Quyền defeated a Southern Han fleet by planting iron-tipped stakes in the riverbed, hidden at high tide, then luring the enemy ships upstream and waiting for the water to fall. In 1288, during the third Mongol invasion of Đại Việt, the general Trần Hưng Đạo used the same trick against the fleet of Kublai Khan's Yuan dynasty, trapping and destroying it. In the fields around Quảng Yên, archaeologists have found rows of those ancient wooden stakes, still standing in the mud, and the Yên Giang stake yard is one of the sites where you can see them preserved.

   Read the complete Yen Giang Stake-yard write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 133 km into the recorded legs you reach Yen Giang Stake-yard. Next is back through Kiep Bac Temple.

4. 4. back through Kiep Bac Temple

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Kiep Bac Temple write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Kiep Bac Temple, late in the day. Next is Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of.

5. 5. Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of. That is the ride.