CÔ LOA CITADEL

The city's history can be divided into two distinct periods:

First citadel. Linked to the legendary kings of the Au Lac dynasty, notably King Thuc An Duong (1208 BC). At that time, northern Tonkin was the territory of the Annamite peoples. King Thuc came from a country called Ba Thuc. Ba Thuc's army defeated that of the Annamite princes, and Thuc An Duong, now king of the Au Lac kingdom, chose the site of Cô Loa to build a citadel and establish his capital Cô Loa Thành. The citadel was protected by a triple wall which, according to legend, had an acoustic defense system and gave the city its name: Cô Loa, the spiral city. In 214 B.C., the Chinese, eager to reclaim their southern lands, went to war again and retook the province of Canton. General Tchao To saw no reason to stop there, and attacked the kingdom of Au Lac, laying siege to the ramparts of Cô Loa. Legend has it that King An Duong became invincible thanks to a magical golden tab he received from a mythical turtle. When he fitted this tab to his crossbow, he could kill all his enemies. Knowing that he could not fight against supernatural power, the Chinese general Tchao To offered his son to the daughter of King An Duong. The latter accepted, but as soon as he was introduced to the court, the deceiver took advantage of his father-in-law's inattention to steal the magic tab. All that remained was for the Chinese general to attack the citadel. When King Thuc An Duong realized he'd been played, he didn't forgive his son-in-law and killed his own daughter. Mad with grief, the young man ended up drowning. By sacking the citadel, the Chinese had signed the end of the Au Lac kingdom.

Ngô Quyên citadel. Another citadel was built under the Ngô between 939 and 944, when it was destroyed. Remains date back to the ^17th century, when the Lê dynasty sought to do justice to the memory of King Thuc An Duong. A temple was built on the site of his palace. Access is via a staircase lined with dragons. On a portico, visitors can read the inscription: "Wherever your gaze rests, thousand-year-old antiquity reigns" Over the past two centuries, the building has undergone successive restorations. The circular pond in front of the temple portico is said to be the one in which King An Duong's unfortunate son-in-law drowned. Its water is said to have the power to revive the brilliance of gold, pearls and precious stones.