Things to see in Hanoi - Cultural Palaces

The Viet - Xo Friendship Labor Palace of Culture

This is situated on Tran Hung Dao Street, overlooking the May 1st Square on a site that originally housed the Fair Show of Indochinese natural resources and products. The two-story building was constructed by the French administration for this purpose in 1902. In 1943, US bombers destroyed the building while fighting the Japanese troops that occupied Indochina during World War II. After taking over Hanoi in 1954, the Vietnamese government built an open-air theater called the People's Theater on the site for the general population. Following Reunification in 1975, the Central Council of the USSR Trade Union gave it to Vietnam's Trade Union as a gift to construct a cultural palace for workers. The project was completed on September 1, 1985 and was named the Viet-Xo Friendship Labor Palace of Culture. Today, the Palace hosts various activities of cultural, scientific, artistic and athletic nature for Hanoi's workers.

The palace has a total area of 3.2 hectares and a total of three buildings: a performance building, a study building and a technical one. Surrounding the performance building is a corridor with a row of pillars standing nearly 40 feet tall, supporting the building's roof. At the rear of the palace is the three-story study building that houses a library, a conference hall and an observatory. Connecting the two buildings is the technology building. The entire palace consists of 120 rooms, 20 staircases and two elevators.

The palace has a system of thirty clubs whereby members meet in specialized groups focusing on specific topics, i.e., electronics, biochemistry and life sciences, mechanics, Hanoi history and famous men.

The Hanoi Pioneer's Cultural Palace

Under French rule, there were two establishments; the Au Tri Vien children's park where events such as beauty contests and various festival parades were held and the French club. After the Vietnamese government regained control of the capital, the two were combined to form the "Pioneer'' Club where entertainment for children was performed. In 1973 with assistance from Czechoslovakia, the old children's club was torn down and the Pioneer's Palace was erected.

The palace, which was completed on February 19, 1977, is located on Ly Thai To Street and takes up over 10,000 square meters. The center is the six-story building that has nearly 100 rooms for studying and other activities. The entire palace can hold up to 5,000 children at a time.

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Excerpted from Hanoi: Past and Present by Nguyen Vinh Phuc, The Gioi Publishers, Hanoi, 1995

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Published on 12/7/03