Content #066

Hoàn Kiếm Lake. Hanoi Vietnam. 2008
‘Hoan Kiem Lake (Vietnamese: Hồ Hoàn Kiếm, Hán tự: 湖還劍, meaning “Lake of the Returned Sword” or “Lake of the Restored Sword”), also known as Gươm Lake (Hồ Gươm (Sword Lake)) or Tả Vọng Lake ( Hồ Tả Vọng), is a fresh water lake, measuring some 12 ha in the historical center of Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. According to the legend, after defeating the Ming China, Emperor Lê Lợi was boating on the lake when a Golden Turtle God (Kim Qui) surfaced and asked for his magic sword, Heaven’s Will. Lợi concluded that Kim Qui had come to reclaim the sword that its master, a local God, the Dragon King (Long Vương) had given Lợi sometime earlier to defeat Ming China. Later, the Emperor gave the sword back to the turtle after he finished fighting off the Chinese. Emperor Lợi renamed the lake to commemorate this event, from its former name Luc Thuy meaning “Green Water”. The Turtle Tower (Tháp Rùa) standing on a small island near the center of the lake is linked to the legend. The first name of Hoàn Kiếm lake is Tả Vọng, when the Emperor hadn’t given the Magical Sword back to the Golden Turtle God (Cụ Rùa). Large soft-shell turtles, either of the species Rafetus swinhoei or a separate species named Rafetus leloi in honor of the emperor, had been sighted in the lake for many years. The last known individual was found dead on January 19, 2016. There are three remaining turtles of the species R. swinhoei.’ Bron: Wikipedia.