Statue of King Lý Thái To

In front of you stands one of the most important figures in Vietnamese history: King Lý Thái Tổ, founder of the Lý dynasty and the ruler who established Hanoi as we know it today. Look closely at the statue: it stands at 10.10 meters tall, a deliberate reference to the year 1010, when the king moved the capital here and named it Thăng Long, the “Rising Dragon.” In his hand, he holds the imperial decree announcing that decision, as if he had just signed the city into existence. He looks toward Hoan Kiem Lake, often seen as the heart of Hanoi, as if he were still watching over the city he founded more than a thousand years ago.