Hoàn Kiếm District

Hoàn Kiếm is an urban district (quận) of Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, named after the scenic Hoàn Kiếm Lake.

Hoàn Kiếm District is the downtown and commercial center of Hanoi. Most of the largest Vietnamese public corporations and bank headquarters are located here, but the central government offices are located in Ba Đình District (sometimes called the French quarter). The Hanoi City Committee is located on Dinh Tien Hoang street, adjacent to the Hoan Kiem lake.

Many of Hanoi's tourist attractions are located here, including: The Old Quarter, Hanoi Opera House, National Museum of Vietnamese History, and the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre.

Coordinates: 21°01′44″N 105°51′09″E / 21.02889°N 105.85250°E / 21.02889; 105.85250

Vietnamese language

Vietnamese ⁱ/ˌviɛtnəˈmiːz/ (tiếng Việt) is an Austroasiatic language that originated in the north of Vietnam and is the national and official language of the country. It is the native language of the Vietnamese (Kinh) people, as well as a first or second language for the many ethnic minorities of Vietnam. As the result of Vietnamese emigration and cultural influence, Vietnamese speakers are found throughout the world, notably in East and Southeast Asia, North America, Australia and Western Europe. Vietnamese has also been officially recognized as a minority language in the Czech Republic.

It is part of the Austroasiatic language family of which it has by far the most speakers (several times as many as the other Austroasiatic languages combined). Vietnamese vocabulary has borrowings from Chinese, and it formerly used a modified set of Chinese characters called chữ nôm given vernacular pronunciation. The Vietnamese alphabet (quốc ngữ) in use today is a Latin alphabet with additional diacritics for tones, and certain letters.

Hoàn Kiếm Lake

Hoan Kiem Lake (Vietnamese: Hồ Hoàn Kiếm, meaning "Lake of the Returned Sword" or "Lake of the Restored Sword"), also known as Hồ Gươm (Sword Lake), is a lake in the historical center of Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. The lake is one of the major scenic spots in the city and serves as a focal point for its public life.

History

According to the legend, in early 1428, Emperor Lê Lợi was boating on the lake when a Golden Turtle God (Kim Qui) surfaced and asked for his magic sword, Heaven's Will. Lợi concluded that Kim Qui had come to reclaim the sword that its master, a local God, the Dragon King (Long Vương) had given Lợi some time earlier, during his revolt against Ming China. Lợi renamed the lake to commemorate this event, from its former name Luc Thuy meaning "Green Water". The Turtle Tower (Thap Rùa) standing on a small island near the centre of lake is linked to the legend.

Large soft-shell turtles, either of the species Rafetus swinhoei or a separate species named Rafetus leloii in honor of the emperor, had been sighted in the lake for many years. The last known individual was found dead on January 19, 2016. There are three remaining turtles of the species R. swinhoei.

Hoan Kiem turtle

The Hoàn Kiếm turtle (Rafetus leloii) was a controversial taxon of turtle from Southeast Asia, found in Hoàn Kiếm Lake in Hanoi, Vietnam. Although some Vietnamese biologists assert that R. leloii is a distinct species from the Yangtze giant softshell turtle Rafetus swinhoei, most authorities classify it as synonymous with the latter species. If the two taxa are to be considered distinct, R. leloii may be considered extinct. There are three living specimens of R. swinhoei remaining in the world.

The last individual, affectionately known to locals as "Cụ Rùa", meaning “great grandfather turtle” in Vietnamese, was reported dead on 19 January 2016. A local saw the body of the turtle floating and reported it to the authority. The last time the turtle was spotted alive was on 21 December, 2015.

Classification

Hà Đình Đức

Hà Đình Đức is a Vietnamese biology professor. He was born on March 23 in 1940 in the Thọ Xuân District (Thanh Hóa Province, Vietnam). He is known for describing the Hoan Kiem turtle, which he classified under name Rafetus leloii. Duc believes it is distinct from the Yangtze giant softshell turtle, which is generally regarded by other biologists as the same species. He has also been at odds with other conservationists and officials who believe the turtle should remain in the Hoan Kiem lake, while he believes it should be removed to avoid competing with other invasive turtle species of the lake. Additionally, Ha believes there is only one Hoan Kiem turtle living in the lake, even though witnesses have reported at least one other turtle in the lake.

References

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