If one were to strike out west from Hanoi and follow the Red River for some 50 kilometers, there they will find Đường Lâm Village — a quintessence of rural Vietnam.
Đường Lâm is home to green paddy fields, cobbled roads, and old ladies with betel-blackened smiles. Phùng Hưng and Ngô Quyền, two war heroes, were said to be born here — a story that is up for some debate — thus this place is also called “the land of two kings.”
In 2006, Đường Lâm was officially recognized as a national cultural and historical relic, the first village in Vietnam to receive such a title. Marcus Lacey, a photographer, knew of this village by chance through a passerby while Lacey was selling prints in Tây Hồ. “I went the very next day,” Lacey shares. “It is beautiful. I think it reminds me of my childhood because of the cobbled alleys and little courtyards.”
The villagers were very friendly; one man invited Lacey into his house for tea and was happy to be photographed, though he spoke no English. Lacey also found a well with crystal-clear water, next to which was a stone tablet with the inscription: “a heart pure as ice.”
If you haven’t been to this village yet, we hope these images below can inspire a visit, once it is safe to travel, of course.
Historical artifacts and architectural features galore, even though they are worn by the elements.
Cobbled streets and their pedestrians.
Đường Lâm is among a few places in Vietnam where old ladies keep their dyed black teeth.
This article was originally published in 2021 on Urbanist Hanoi.
