Discovering antique beauty of Son Tay ancient citadel in Hanoi
VOV.VN - In addition to Thang Long and Co Loa Citadels, Hanoi is also famous for the 200-year-old citadel of Son Tay which was built with laterite, a unique construction material.
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Around 45km from the centre of Hanoi, Son Tay citadel is situated between the two villages of Thuan Nghe and Mai Trai, built by King Minh Mang in 1822. |
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The citadel’s wall is 4m wide. The holes at the top of the wall were for soldiers to shoot from inside the citadel or attack their enemies using spears or broadswords. |
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The citadel has four gates facing east, west, south and north, namely the Front (Tien), the Back (Hau), the Right (Huu) and the Left (Ta). Each entrance has a guard tower. |
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The flagpole is 18m high. |
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After nearly 200 years, most of the Son Tay Ancient Citadel has been destroyed by wars and time and only a few relics are left, including some stretches of the citadel walls, gates, guard towers, Kinh Thien’s Palace grounds, wells and two cannons. |
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