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Kim Liên, Hồng Mai, Bạch Mai are among Hanoi's flower-named streets, along with some others adorned with floral names.
Tour Hanoi: Check-In at Flower-Named Streets
Excluding flower-named streets in certain urban areas, Hanoi also has many roads adorned with floral names dating back to ancient times.
Streets Named After Flower Species
Among the oldest is Kim Liên neighborhood (golden lotus), named after the ancient village in Đống Đa district. Historical records suggest that since King Lý Thái Tổ moved the capital from Hoa Lư to Thăng Long in 1010, the southern area of the new capital has had a village called Đồng Lầm.
In the year of Kỷ Sửu (1619), under the reign of King Lê Thần Tông, with the era named Vĩnh Tộ, the royal court renamed the village of Đồng Lầm to Kim Hoa (Golden Blossom). This village belonged to Kim Hoa ward and Đông Tác in Thọ Xương district, Hoài Đức prefecture. In the year of Tân Sửu (1841), King Thiệu Trị renamed the village to Kim Liên (Golden Lotus), out of respect for his mother, Queen Hồ Thị Hoa. The name Kim Liên has been used ever since and has been designated for an entire ward, including the collective area of Kim Liên.
Formerly, albeit unofficially, Kim Liên street referred to the stretch from the intersection of Lê Duẩn – Giải Phóng – Đại Cồ Việt towards Phạm Ngọc Thạch. Since the city constructed the Ring Road 1, many refer to this stretch from the intersection as the new Kim Liên street. By 2008, this stretch officially became known as Xã Đàn street.
Also named after the lotus flower, Hanoi has Liên Trì street (Lotus Pond) near Thiền Quang lake. Originally, this area was called Liên Thủy hamlet, later changed to Liên Đường, where Liên Trì pagoda is located, and the pagoda's name was later used for the street name. Additionally, on Khâm Thiên street, there is a small alley named Liên Hoa (Lotus Flower) alley. This alley leads to Linh Quang hamlet, where Liên Hoa pagoda is situated within the hamlet.
In Hà Đông district, across from the University of Architecture, there is also a system of alleys with purely Vietnamese names, such as Ao Sen alley (Lotus Pond alley).
On the northern side of West Lake, adjacent to the Water Park, before being named Trịnh Công Sơn street, a romantic road running past large lotus ponds was affectionately referred to by locals as Sen Hồ Tây (West Lake Lotus) street.
Meanwhile, in the southern part of the ancient capital Thăng Long, but slightly eastward, there are several ancient villages named after beautiful flowers: Bạch Mai (White Apricot Blossom) and Hoàng Mai (Yellow Apricot Blossom). According to researchers, the street Bạch Mai was once named Hồng Mai (Pink Apricot Blossom), but it was changed to Bạch Mai due to superstition surrounding King Tự Đức's name (Hồng Nhậm).
Before the August Revolution, these village names were used to designate streets. Today, Hồng Mai and Bạch Mai are two perpendicular streets, while Hoàng Mai is slightly below, running from Trương Định street down to Tam Trinh street.
Located in Hai Bà Trưng district, named after the former capital of Đại Cổ Việt is Hoa Lư, but the origin of this place name also relates to a flower (water hyacinth). Therefore, naming this street connecting Lê Đại Hành street and Đại Cồ Việt road after the former capital is quite logical.
Streets with 'Hoa' in the name
As mentioned above, the village of Kim Liên was formerly called Kim Hoa, hence the gate of Đồng Lầm is also called Kim Hoa gate. Therefore, there is now a small street parallel to Ring Road 1 Xã Đàn, running from Kim Liên gate behind Kim Liên shrine called Kim Hoa street.
In recent years, Hanoi has given new names to some roads along West Lake, including Yên Hoa street (2012) and Từ Hoa street (2013).
Yên Hoa street extends from Thanh Niên street, near the gate of Trấn Quốc pagoda, passing through Yên Phụ village, to the gate of Thắng Lợi hotel on Nghi Tàm street. Note that Yên Hoa street may be confused with Yên Hòa street, a street located in Cầu Giấy district.
The road encircling the ancient village of Nghi Tàm is named after the silk queen: Princess Từ Hoa. Historical records depict Từ Hoa as the daughter of King Lý Thần Tông, who established a residence in Nghi Tàm village. She was credited with teaching people to grow mulberries and raise silkworms, creating a renowned area within the capital city of Thăng Long.
In 2014, the city added more street names, including in the West Lake area, where the stretch of road from the gate of Phú Xá pagoda to behind Phú Thượng secondary school was named Phúc Hoa street.
In the Cầu Giấy district area, the name Quan Hoa street was given to the stretch of road from bridge T11 along the Tô Lịch river to the intersection with Cầu Giấy road (Cầu Giấy district People's Committee headquarters).
According to Lê Tiên Long/Vnexpress
According to Afamily
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Reference: Travel Guide by Mytour
MytourSeptember 8, 2017
