Turtle Tower

Turtle Tower stands on a small mound in Hoàn Kiếm Lake, yet its history holds more layers than the three-storey silhouette seen from shore. The structure existed by the late nineteenth century and is commonly attributed to Bá hộ Kim, Nguyễn Hữu Kim, although its exact construction year remains disputed.

A Small Tower Through Many Changes of Meaning

A reduced version of the Statue of Liberty once stood on its roof after the 1887 Hanoi Exposition. In 1954, a temporary pontoon bridge called Cầu Rồng, or Dragon Bridge, briefly linked the shore to the mound. These episodes show how different meanings were once placed on this familiar view.

The statue and temporary bridge are gone; what remains is an Asian–European form standing alone in the water. The tower now poses a question about urban memory: what does a city retain after layers of power, events, and names have passed?

Enough to decide whether to go

What it is

A three-storey tower on Turtle Mound

Secure period

Present by the late nineteenth century

Commonly linked builder

Bá hộ Kim, Nguyễn Hữu Kim

Unexpected episode

A Statue of Liberty once stood on its roof

Experience

View it from points around the lakeshore