Hanoi Webcam Live
Vietnam's capital, founded after an emperor reported seeing a golden dragon rise from the Red River. Live 24/7.
A live view of Vietnam's thousand-year capital
A YouTube live stream covers Hanoi, Vietnam's capital and one of the oldest continuously inhabited capitals in Southeast Asia.
Hanoi — a city named for a dragon one emperor claimed to see
In 1010, Emperor Ly Thai To moved his royal court from the remote valley of Hoa Lu to the old Dai La fortress on the banks of the Red River. As his boat approached the shore, the royal chronicles record, a golden dragon rose into the sky above the water — an omen so powerful the emperor renamed the site on the spot: Thang Long, "Ascending Dragon." Whatever actually happened that day, the name stuck for the better part of a millennium, and the dragon remains one of Vietnam's most enduring national symbols.
The dynasty that followed built quickly on that founding ambition. In 1070, Emperor Ly Thanh Tong constructed the Temple of Literature to honour Confucius, and six years later established the Imperial Academy, Quoc Tu Giam, inside it — Vietnam's first national university, educating generations of scholars and mandarins whose names are still carved into stone stelae mounted on the backs of turtle statues. The city took its modern name, Hanoi, meaning "between the rivers," only in the 19th century, before becoming, in 1976, the capital of a reunified Vietnam.
What the camera shows
Hanoi Live
YouTube Live · HanoiLive stream over Hanoi, Vietnam's capital, founded over a thousand years ago on the banks of the Red River.
Watch live →In the early 15th century, legend holds, a fisherman named Le Loi received a magic sword from a golden turtle in a lake at the city's heart, using it to defeat Ming Chinese occupiers. A decade later, sailing across the same lake, the turtle resurfaced and reclaimed the blade — giving the lake its name, Hoan Kiem, "Lake of the Returned Sword," which it still carries today.
Hanoi beyond the webcam
Hoan Kiem Lake: the spiritual heart of the city, home to the small Turtle Tower and the red Sunbeam Bridge to Ngoc Son Temple.
Old Quarter: 36 historic streets, each once named for the single trade or guild that operated there.
Temple of Literature: Vietnam's first university, its five courtyards lined with stone stelae honouring centuries of graduates.
An emperor who claimed to see a dragon rise from a river gave his new capital a name meant to last forever — and nearly a thousand years, several dynasties, French colonisation and two wars later, that dragon is still the symbol Hanoi reaches for first.
When to watch
Early morning: for locals practising tai chi around Hoan Kiem Lake before the city's traffic picks up.
Getting there: Hoan Kiem Lake and the Old Quarter sit at the heart of central Hanoi, Vietnam.
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