Temple of Litterature

On your right is one of Hanoi’s most important historic sites, closely associated with learning and education for nearly a thousand years. Founded in 1070 to honor Confucius and transformed in 1076 into Vietnam’s first university, it welcomed generations of students preparing for the notoriously demanding imperial examinations. The visit is easy to follow: you pass through official gates where even senior officials had to dismount, walk through a sequence of quiet garden courtyards, and reach the Khuê Văn Pavilion, a refined structure that has become one of the city’s most recognizable symbols. At the center of the complex, the third courtyard is organized around the Thiên Quang Well, flanked by 82 stone tablets resting on the backs of turtles, carved with the names of 1,307 scholars who passed the imperial exams between 1442 and 1779; these inscriptions have been part of UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register since March 9, 2010. Next comes the temple dedicated to Confucius and his disciples, a space that was once closed even to the emperor, followed by the former academy where the country’s brightest students studied under teachers such as Chu Văn An. The site is still active today, with students coming to seek good luck before exams, calligraphers at work, and, at certain times of year, ceremonies and evening visits, and it continues to play an active role in the city’s cultural and academic life.