Hanoi Attractions: #5 Truc Bach Lake

The Vietnamese capital is known as the City of Lakes and as attractions in Hanoi, Truc Bach Lake used to be one of the best. This delightful tranquil lake is much loved by the people of Hanoi who used it as a recreational centre every day. Not one of the city’s most famous lakes, it was once actually part of its most famous, West Lake. In the 17th century in order to allow the farming of fish, the Co Ngu dyke was constructed, effectively slicing off a part of the more famous body of water in order to form Truc Bach Lake.

The monument celebrating the downing of John McCain's aircraft in the war
Truc Bach Lake is found to the northwest of the famous Hanoi Old Quarter. In the late 1950’s the dyke between the two bodies of water was widened to form a major road called Thanh Nien. An old early 18th century building here originally built as a palace was later converted to a specialist prison, used for the incarceration of criminal concubines. They laboured in the workshops here creating wonderful silk that became to be known as bamboo silk, because the locals in the area were well known for the cultivation of bamboo.

In October of 1967, during the Vietnam War, US Navy aviator and later Senator John McCain’s plane was downed by anti-aircraft fire, whilst on a mission to attack a local power plant. He parachuted into Truc Bach Lake and injured, almost drowned. Locals dragged him from the water and beat him up; such is the way of warfare. He was taken away as a prisoner of war and his memoirs of the events became famous. A monument was erected celebrating the downing of his aircraft. In 1985 McCain visited the site on his first journey back to Vietnam, since the end of the war.

The lake is somewhat polluted these days, but the history surrounding it ensures its place as one of the attractions in Hanoi, and indeed Vietnam.

Other Hanoi Attractions can be found here:

#1 Cua Bac Church Here: https://steemit.com/travel/@inseasia/hanoi-attractions

#2 Hoan Kiem Lake. https://steemit.com/travel/@inseasia/hanoi-attractions-2-hoan-kiem-lake

#3 Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum https://steemit.com/travel/@inseasia/hanoi-attractions-3-ho-chi-minh-mausoleum

#4 The Vietnamese Museum of Ethnology https://steemit.com/travel/@inseasia/hanoi-attractions-the-vietnam-museum-of-ethnology

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