VietnamSurprise – Son Tay ancient citadel is located in Son Tay town, more than 40 km from Hoan Kiem lake – Ha Noi. It was built in 1822 under the reign of King Minh Mang, which is an ancient and unique military architecture in Vietnam.
In the citadel, the works are built symmetric axis from South to North. “Vọng cung nữ” is located in center of citadel, where the King rested and mandarins in the town performed rituals annually.
The first impression that visitors easily feel about Son Tay ancient citadel is the image of ancient trees of hundreds of years old. Their rough roots get stretched, embrace the mossy ancient walls and the ruined gates, creating an ancient beauty.
The Son Tay ancient citadel has four main gates: one in the south called “Tiền”, in the North named “Hậu”, on the right called “Tả” and Hậu on the left. After nearly 200 years of history with many ups and downs, Son Tay ancient citadel now has only the “Tiền” and “Hậu” gates, ancient walls, two cannons and some ruins of “Vọng cung nữ”, “Thiên” palace, some wells…
