The colours of Hoan Kiem Lake

A corner of the exhibition room

That bouquet changes its colour with the arrival of each season. In spring, the lake is carpeted with the pure white of Dalbergia tonkinensis flowers, the pinkish white of mountain ebony flowers, the crimson of giant crape-myrtle leaf buds and the yellow of barringtonia leaves.

In summer, the bouquet is decorated with the bright red of flamboyant flowers, the purple of giant crape-myrtle flowers and the bright yellow of golden-shower flowers. Barringtonia flowers fall to the green water surface of Hoan Kiem Lake and form a flaming-red raft drifting far off to the ancient Turtle Tower in early summer and late autumn.

And the giant crape-myrtle leaves, before parting with the trees branches, turn from green to red warming up the approaching cold days of winter.

The more sunlight there is the more blue the sky over Hoan Kiem Lake seems to become. When the sun sets fascinating cloud formations appear in the sky, which sometimes can be identified as a dragon flying over the thousand-year-old city of Thang Long.

A native of Ha Tinh but born and raised in Hanoi, Mr Ha Hong is currently director of Nhan Dan Newspaper’s Science and Education Department as well as chairman of the newspaper’s Photography Club. With a passion for Hanoi, and Hoan Kiem Lake in particular, Mr Ha Hong launched a website on Hoan Kiem Lake (www.hohoankiem.org) in 2006. Since then, over a thousand news articles and more than five thousand photos taken by the journalist have been published. Through his website, Mr Ha Hong has told the stories of Hanoians around Hoan Kiem Lake and introduced his photos capturing the charming beauty of this special place.

One of the photos displayed at the exhibition

The exhibition opens on October 4 and will run until October 19.

Thu Huong