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Day Two
Next day booked Hoa Lu boat and Tam Coc Biking Day Trip. A two and a half hour bus trip takes us over rice fields and through villages. After a lunch stop on the way, first a visit at the Hoa Lu ancient capital, dating back to the 10th century, packed with temple & fortress ruins, followed by a boat trip on the Song Sao Khe River
History of Hoa Lu Ancient Capital
Hoa Lu ancient capital history is a long interesting story. It started from the mid-10th century when northern Vietnam led its country independently of the Chinese dynasties. However, due to political separations, the country was divided into 12 parties led by 12 different generals. These different kingdoms had continually fought and the country had remained divided for many years.
Then there was a man named Dinh Bo Linh who had assembled an army to fight the 11 other armies. This man was very talented and defeated all the generals. Finally, in 968, he reunited the country, became the king, set Hoa Lu as the capital, and named the country as Dai Co Viet, which means the great country of the Viet people. It is the first absolute monarchy of Vietnam.
After 12 years of rule, Dinh Bo Linh was murdered. Many details surrounding the assassination are still controversial to this day. History does not even identify the murderer, but it could be about the plot of one of Dinh Bo Linh’s five women, Ms. Duong, and a general named Le Hoan. It has been said that Mrs. Duong and Le Hoan conspired against the king. After the death of King Dinh Bo Linh, the king’s son and Queen Duong became the king, but he was only a six-year-old boy.
In the early 980s, the Chinese Tong dynasty began to invade the country of Dai Co Viet. Queen Duong took this opportunity to convince the other generals to make Le Hoan become the leader of the Vietnamese army and people in the fight against Tong’s army. Le Hoan won the throne of Dai Co Viet, marking the beginning of the Le dynasty
King Le Hoan was also a talented general. His army pushed Tong’s army back to the border. Until 1009, a general of the first dynasty of the name, Ly Cong Uan, was enthroned while the family Le failed to lead the country successfully.
Then Ly Cong Uan took the throne and became the first king of the Ly dynasty. In 1010, King Ly transferred the capital of the country from Hoa Lu to Dai La and changed the name from Dai La to Thang Long (which means flying dragon), which is the current capital of Vietnam in Hanoi.
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