Co Loa Citadel Hanoi Vietnam

Co Loa is located on Co Loa commune, Dong Anh District, Hanoi. It was the capital of Au Lac, at the third century before Christian and the Van Xuan state under Ngo Quyen reign after Christian. In 1962, Co Loa was ranked as historical national culture.



Location

At Au Lac reign, Co Loa is located in apex position of triangle of the Red River Delta and where people can exchange with the importance of waterways and roads. From here, there has control both highland and lowland sites. Co Loa is situated on Phong Khe, which have living by farming, fishing and handicrafts. The decision chooses Phong Chau as the captital that is one stage of the development of Vietnamese.

Structure

Co Loa is appreciated as the oldest building, the most large-scale structure and the most unique in the history of the ancient Vietnamese.

When building Co Loa, the ancient Vietnamese knew to use the natural terrain advantage, utilizes the height of the hill, mound, to build two walls on the outside so the two walls has curving lines in the terrain. The main material used to build that is ground, stones and broken pottery. According to legend, Co Loa has 9 spirals; however, there still has 3 round.

The value of The Co Loa
In the general structure of the Co Loa, there has another factor to enrich the overall architecture. These are the long or circular mounds; it is called Dong Dan, Dong Chuong, and Dong Ban. It used as public savings, coordinate with the trenches in the defense and combat.

In military terms, Co Loa represents the unique creations of the ancient Vietnamese in the struggle against enemy. With the deep trenches, strong walls, Co Loa is a solid defensive to protect the King and capital.

In socially terms, the distribution of the area for the King, solider, Co Loa is evidence about the social differentiation of the time. This period, the King not only separated from the public but also was protected by soldiers.

In cultural terms, is one of the oldest buildings have traces, Co Loa becomes one cultural heritage, evidence about the creativity, technical proficiency as well as the ancient Vietnamese culture. All things create the architecture and culture of An Duong Vuong reign.

 Go to Hanoi centre, you can visit the  temple of literature vietnam where is the first univercity in vietnam