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Cherished trees still standing in charming and low-rise Hanoi
By Wang Yong |
December 12, 2012, Wednesday
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TO walk in Hanoi is to walk in harmony with nature, where magnificent, ancient trees and walls line the streets, now as ever before - a scene foreign to many other modern cities that are mostly concrete forests.
My wife and I visited the capital city of Vietnam last week before we went down to Da Nang to celebrate the birthday of a dear friend and then on to Ho Chi Minh City for sightseeing.
It was my wife's first trip to Hanoi, and my second in 18 years. I visited Hanoi in 1994 as a journalist covering the diplomatic relations between China and Vietnam. At that time, I marveled at the city's low-rise skyline, vast forest canopies and myriad street vendors.
Before we left from Shanghai for Hanoi last week, I had told my wife that I especially remembered a lake hugged by century-old trees, a low-rise department store nearby selling daily necessities, and humble vendors hustling along the lake. I admitted, however, that I wasn't sure whether all these had changed the way they had in many other modern cities around the world - trees were chopped down and vendors were whisked off to make a "better" or "better looking" city.
It was raining hard when we arrived in Hanoi on December 1, but I decided to go all out in search of that low-rise, possibly two-story department store. I did not find it. I went on to search for it the next day, and was against lost in the urban world now harboring more high-rises than I could remember.
Make no mistake. Hanoi today is by no means a concrete monster by any other name; it is not another Beijing or Tokyo. The overall skyline of central Hanoi remains extremely low despite 18 years of economic growth.
Although I did not find that two-story department store at the bottom of my memory - possibly because we did not have more time for exploration - I found most new buildings in downtown Hanoi to be no more than 10 stories high. In fact, two- or single-story buildings - appropriate for small business - still dominate the urban landscape.
If you have been to the West Lake in the center of Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, you probably have noticed that there are few high-rises around the lake. But around the legendary Hoan Kiem Lake - a couple of minutes' walk from our boutique hotel, Hanoi Elegance - you would find the skyline is about half the height of Hangzhou's. Trees remain the tallest of all things in Hanoi, looking down at the city like age-old men, caring for everyone in their embrace.
Roaming under the shade of forest canopies around the lake and across downtown Hanoi, I couldn't help thinking about the fate of these ancient trees if they had grown in a typical modern Chinese city eager to replace the green with glass walls.
Nguyen Ha Linh, our hotel's customer service executive, said she was proud that I loved Hanoi as it was. But many of my Chinese acquaintances prefer Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi since the latter is more "backward." One Chinese lady was surprised to hear me saying that I love trees in Hanoi. She asked: "Do you have a tree complex?"
Yes, but I am not the only one with a "tree complex." On December 2, I read Viet Nam News and found the cover story to be about Hanoi's trees. The headline: "Trees inspire Hanoi."
The key quote: "City planners in Hanoi have decided that trees are important in their urban environment. Children growing up amid nature have better health, while walking in parks helps adults reduce blood pressure, stress and obesity..."
One paragraph reads: "Each street can be represented by a tree: when you speak about Nguyen Du Street, you are reminded of hoa sua (Alstonia scholaris) trees, and walking on Tran Hung Dao, sau (dracontomelon duperoanum) trees come to mind."
Indeed, trees are part of the city life in Hanoi, even part of local residents' religious rituals. I once saw a piece of burning incense wedged into tree bark and spreading its fragrance.
And under a tree rising from any street side or corner, you would see a couple of locals sitting or squatting together, chatting and beaming.
One might say Hanoi is less populated than Beijing or Shanghai so it has more space for trees. The fact is that there are many cities and counties in China that are less populated than Hanoi and yet they still put concrete creatures before trees. A certain county in Henan Province was so deprived of lush green landscape that the local forestry administration built two fake pine trees in front of its office building in 2010. The fake trees were recently removed after the administration chief was arrested for corruption.
To plant or not to plant trees, it's not a question of space, but of choice. Now as China's new leadership strives for a "beautiful China," many Chinese cities have begun to go green. For example, certain subway lines in Shanghai have changed routes for the protection of ancient trees.
In Hanoi, there is no lack of concern for urban construction's damage to trees. In the article "Trees inspire Hanoi," one paragraph reads: "Workers get away with digging around the trees without much care."
As more and more foreign investment comes to Vietnam, will it keep its lavish green landscape, typically represented by Hanoi, in the next 18 years?
I keep my fingers crossed.
My wife and I visited the capital city of Vietnam last week before we went down to Da Nang to celebrate the birthday of a dear friend and then on to Ho Chi Minh City for sightseeing.
It was my wife's first trip to Hanoi, and my second in 18 years. I visited Hanoi in 1994 as a journalist covering the diplomatic relations between China and Vietnam. At that time, I marveled at the city's low-rise skyline, vast forest canopies and myriad street vendors.
Before we left from Shanghai for Hanoi last week, I had told my wife that I especially remembered a lake hugged by century-old trees, a low-rise department store nearby selling daily necessities, and humble vendors hustling along the lake. I admitted, however, that I wasn't sure whether all these had changed the way they had in many other modern cities around the world - trees were chopped down and vendors were whisked off to make a "better" or "better looking" city.
It was raining hard when we arrived in Hanoi on December 1, but I decided to go all out in search of that low-rise, possibly two-story department store. I did not find it. I went on to search for it the next day, and was against lost in the urban world now harboring more high-rises than I could remember.
Make no mistake. Hanoi today is by no means a concrete monster by any other name; it is not another Beijing or Tokyo. The overall skyline of central Hanoi remains extremely low despite 18 years of economic growth.
Although I did not find that two-story department store at the bottom of my memory - possibly because we did not have more time for exploration - I found most new buildings in downtown Hanoi to be no more than 10 stories high. In fact, two- or single-story buildings - appropriate for small business - still dominate the urban landscape.
If you have been to the West Lake in the center of Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, you probably have noticed that there are few high-rises around the lake. But around the legendary Hoan Kiem Lake - a couple of minutes' walk from our boutique hotel, Hanoi Elegance - you would find the skyline is about half the height of Hangzhou's. Trees remain the tallest of all things in Hanoi, looking down at the city like age-old men, caring for everyone in their embrace.
Roaming under the shade of forest canopies around the lake and across downtown Hanoi, I couldn't help thinking about the fate of these ancient trees if they had grown in a typical modern Chinese city eager to replace the green with glass walls.
Nguyen Ha Linh, our hotel's customer service executive, said she was proud that I loved Hanoi as it was. But many of my Chinese acquaintances prefer Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi since the latter is more "backward." One Chinese lady was surprised to hear me saying that I love trees in Hanoi. She asked: "Do you have a tree complex?"
Yes, but I am not the only one with a "tree complex." On December 2, I read Viet Nam News and found the cover story to be about Hanoi's trees. The headline: "Trees inspire Hanoi."
The key quote: "City planners in Hanoi have decided that trees are important in their urban environment. Children growing up amid nature have better health, while walking in parks helps adults reduce blood pressure, stress and obesity..."
One paragraph reads: "Each street can be represented by a tree: when you speak about Nguyen Du Street, you are reminded of hoa sua (Alstonia scholaris) trees, and walking on Tran Hung Dao, sau (dracontomelon duperoanum) trees come to mind."
Indeed, trees are part of the city life in Hanoi, even part of local residents' religious rituals. I once saw a piece of burning incense wedged into tree bark and spreading its fragrance.
And under a tree rising from any street side or corner, you would see a couple of locals sitting or squatting together, chatting and beaming.
One might say Hanoi is less populated than Beijing or Shanghai so it has more space for trees. The fact is that there are many cities and counties in China that are less populated than Hanoi and yet they still put concrete creatures before trees. A certain county in Henan Province was so deprived of lush green landscape that the local forestry administration built two fake pine trees in front of its office building in 2010. The fake trees were recently removed after the administration chief was arrested for corruption.
To plant or not to plant trees, it's not a question of space, but of choice. Now as China's new leadership strives for a "beautiful China," many Chinese cities have begun to go green. For example, certain subway lines in Shanghai have changed routes for the protection of ancient trees.
In Hanoi, there is no lack of concern for urban construction's damage to trees. In the article "Trees inspire Hanoi," one paragraph reads: "Workers get away with digging around the trees without much care."
As more and more foreign investment comes to Vietnam, will it keep its lavish green landscape, typically represented by Hanoi, in the next 18 years?
I keep my fingers crossed.
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