A project to build a library to store and preserve one thousand years of Thang Long culture has been built by Ha Noi Publishing House, said its director, Nguyen Khac Oanh.

The north gate of the Thang Long citadel in Phan Dinh Phung Street which is still scarred by a French cannon

The library will store rare books, manuscripts and documents about Thang Long- Ha Noi, as well as act as a depository for long-term research on Hanoi’s history.

The Ha Noi Publishing House carried out a campaign to collect rare books and research about Thang Long culture. In addition, they also carried out a successful search in foreign countries.

By the end of 2008, over 9,000 documents and pictures about Thang Long- Ha Noi which are kept in Holland and UK, have been translated into Vietnamese.

All Hanoians, Vietnamese people, overseas Vietnamese, businesses and organizations, and international friends can participate in the campaign to collect and research documents about Thang Long- Ha Noi.

The valuable works will first be exhibited and then published to give an accurate profile of Thang Long’s history.

Thang Long, the ancient name for Hanoi, has a rich history with much still being learnt.

The citadel of Thang Long discovered five years ago, by construction workers laying the foundations of a new National Assembly building. They had accidentally discovered one of the largest and most spectacular archaeological finds in Vietnam’s history – foundations of ancient royal palaces, including one structure 1,000 square meters in size, a drainage system, wells and traces of an ancient river and lake.