Did you know? · Hanoi
Hanoi fun facts
Things you might not know about Hanoi. Every fact comes from an official or primary source, named alongside it.
Updated October 2026
Thirteen centuries of power
UNESCO describes the Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long as built in the 11th century by the Lý dynasty on the remains of a 7th-century Chinese fortress, and the centre of regional political power for almost 13 centuries without interruption; its central sector was inscribed in 2010 (whc.unesco.org).
The first national university
The Temple of Literature (Văn Miếu – Quốc Tử Giám) was the site of Vietnam’s first national university (vanmieu.gov.vn).
1,133 islands
Hạ Long Bay – Cát Bà Archipelago covers 65,650 hectares and includes 1,133 islands and islets; UNESCO first inscribed Hạ Long Bay in 1994 (whc.unesco.org).
30,000 years in the caves
In the Tràng An Landscape Complex, exploration of caves at different altitudes has revealed traces of human activity over a continuous period of more than 30,000 years (whc.unesco.org; inscribed 2014).
A song in need of protection
Ca trù, the sung poetry of northern Vietnam, was inscribed on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2009 (ich.unesco.org).
Egg coffee since 1946
Café Giảng gives its own date as “since 1946”, and calls egg coffee its speciality (cafegiang.vn).
Questions and answers
How old is the Imperial Citadel?
UNESCO dates it to the 11th century, on the remains of a 7th-century fortress.