Old Quarter ReviewVietnam marks Cultural Heritage Day every year on 23 November. In the Old Quarter the day lands on living heritage: guild streets still trading under the names of the crafts that founded them, and temples and communal houses woven into the shopping streets.
Two anchors for the day: the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, recognised by UNESCO in 2010, and the Temple of Literature, founded in 1070. Both sit within an easy ride of the lake, and both tell the longer story that the guild streets grew from.
Our month by month heritage calendar for Hanoi is on this site, and the 49 Streets series films the trades that keep this heritage working rather than preserved behind glass.