Bach Thao Park

Bách Thảo Park is located right at the back of President Hồ Chí Minh’s Mausoleum and the Presidential Palace. It covers an area of twenty hectares of land which originally belonged to Khán Xuân ward. In 1890, the French displaced the people of this ward to build a large garden for planting trees and raising animals. The garden was called Jardin botanique but Hanoians used to call it Trại Hàng Hoa (Flower Garden) or Bách Thú Garden (Zoo).

During World War II (1939-1945) the animals grown there gradually died because of lack of care. Finally, the French administration moved the remaining animals to Saigon Zoo.

Bach Thao Park

After the liberation of Hà Nội on the 10th October 1954, the State rebuilt this area and renamed it Bach Thao (Botanical) Park. At the park’s northwest corner, there is an earth mound which is usually called Khán mound or Nùng mound. It is, in fact, Sưa mound because Khán and Nùng mounds no longer exist today. Sưa is a type of hardwood, similar to iron wood.

In the past, sưa trees grew in abundance on this mound. Also on this mound, there is an ancient temple dedicated to Huyền Thiên Hắc Đế, a boy who, according to legend, helped a King of the Lý Dynasty defeat foreign invaders.