WHAT IS WEST LAKE TO YOU?

To many people, West Lake represents youth; for quite a few others, it is a livelihood; and for some families, it is a place to search for the remains of their grandparents and ancestors...

West Lake to you is youth, only when you accidentally dedicated much of your prime years to it... Many afternoons over iced tea, occasionally silly late-night talks at midnight, inviting a best friend to whisper a few stories and then throw them into the lake... Getting lost at least once when harboring the dream of going all the way around West Lake, taking unforgettable concept photos with your lover, or taking a quick splash on scorching Hanoi days... All of these will remind your older self: Back in the day, West Lake...

West Lake is a place of livelihood, a shared rice bowl for many who know how—and have—to rely on it. People cling to it continuously until it becomes a habit, and turns out it is hard to leave. No wonder so many elderly folks sit selling tea out of pure passion, coming here because of West Lake. Then there are families who have run cafes for two or three generations, making enough not just to get by, but to live comfortably...

West Lake is also special because it used to have many cemeteries; today, the lake bed holds people of the past, and the lake itself is a historical witness... Many people like to search for antiques here, and many families ask feng shui masters to read the river currents and geography to find the remains of relatives from the anti-French and anti-American war eras...

A lake of a little over 10 kilometers, easy to navigate yet easy to get lost around, but it is an integral part of those who have lived or are living in Hanoi!

If you name your love story West Lake, then as you see, my West Lake might very well be different from your West Lake, so let's spend time understanding each other's West Lake ️

Video: Tran Thang

Xem chỉ đường tới Hồ Tây, Tay Ho, Tây Hồ, Hà Nội, Vietnam