The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is an important historical attraction, made to honor the national hero: President Ho Chi Minh.

In the complex of the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is also the Ho Chi Minh Museum, the One-pillar pagoda (which is now one of the most meaningful symbols of Hanoi).

The One Pilar Pagoda

Legend claims that The One Pillar Pagoda was built following a dream by the fatherless emperor in which the enlightened being Avalokiteshvara gave him a baby son resting on a lotus flower. Emperor Ly Thai Tong commissioned the pagoda to be created in resemblance of this lotus flower which is also the Buddhist symbol of enlightenment. The Emperor remained in gratitude to the bodhisattva and subsequently to to Quan Am, the Goddess of Mercy following the birth of his son. Inside the temple a richly gilded statue of Quan Am takes centre place at the main altar.