The Temple of Literature, and the university inside it
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Vietnam trained its officials in one walled compound for seven hundred years, and the compound is still standing ten minutes from Hanoi's old quarter. The Temple of Literature is the country's first university and the only complete classical complex left in the city.
What is inside the five courtyards?
The Temple of Literature is a Confucian temple founded in 1070, with the Imperial Academy — Vietnam's first university — added in 1076. Five walled courtyards run back from the street gate, each separated by a wall and a gate of its own.
The third courtyard holds the Well of Heavenly Clarity and the stelae. The fourth holds the shrine to Confucius, and the fifth the rear hall built where the academy's classrooms stood.
The Khue Van Cac pavilion between them is the building on the 100,000 dong note. It is small, red, raised on white pillars, and it is the picture everybody takes.
| What | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1070, with the academy added in 1076 |
| Courtyards | Five, each behind its own gate |
| Stelae | 82, on carved turtles, 1442 to 1779 |
| Ticket | About 70,000 dong |
| Time needed | About an hour |
What are the stelae?
Eighty-two stone tablets stand on carved stone turtles in the third courtyard, each listing the names and home villages of the doctors who passed the royal examinations between 1442 and 1779. UNESCO added them to the Memory of the World register.
The stelae are the real content of the site. The buildings have been rebuilt more than once; the stones carry seven hundred years of names that can still be read.
Touching the turtles for luck was a habit until the barriers went up. The stone had worn visibly, which is what the barriers are for.
What does a visit cost?
Entry is about 70,000 dong for an adult, under three dollars at roughly 26,000 dong to the US dollar. Students with a card pay less, and the ticket covers the whole complex.
An audio guide is available at the gate for a small extra fee, and it is worth it here more than at most Vietnamese sites, because almost nothing inside is self-explanatory.
The ticket puts an hour here at the same price as a bowl of pho and a coffee — see the trip cost guide for the rest of a Hanoi day.
How long does it take?
An hour covers it properly: twenty minutes to walk the five courtyards, the rest for the stelae and the rear hall with its bronze statues of Confucius and his disciples.
Graduation season adds time. In May and June the courtyards fill with students in gowns and ao dai photographing each other, which slows the walk and is worth watching.
The site closes in the late afternoon and does not run evening hours, so it belongs in a morning rather than at the end of a day.
When is the complex quietest?
The complex is quietest early, before the coaches and the heat. Gates open around eight and the first hour is quiet enough to read the stelae without queueing behind a tour group.
Hanoi's summer runs humid and above 33°C, and the courtyards have limited shade. Winter mornings are cool and often misty, which suits the place.
Before an exam season the temple fills with families praying for results. That is when the complex stops being a monument and becomes a working temple.
Is it worth an hour of a short trip?
For anybody interested in how the country governed itself, yes. This is where the mandarins were made, and the stelae put names to that in a way no museum in the city manages.
For anybody who wants palaces, it will read as a quiet garden with old stones. The Hue Imperial City is the site that answers the palace question, three hundred miles south.
The Hanoi things to do page puts this in the Ba Dinh half-day, alongside the mausoleum and the museums.
What else is in walking distance?
The Ba Dinh district around it holds the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, the One Pillar Pagoda and the Fine Arts Museum, all within fifteen minutes on foot.
Hoan Kiem lake is about twenty-five minutes east, or a short Grab ride, which the motorbike taxi guide covers.
The Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, a separate UNESCO site, sits between the two. Together they make a full day of old Hanoi without a coach.
FAQ
What is the Temple of Literature in Hanoi?
A Confucian temple founded in 1070 and the site of Vietnam's first university, the Imperial Academy, opened in 1076. It trained the country's officials for seven centuries, and its five walled courtyards survive as the best-preserved classical complex in Hanoi.
How much does the Temple of Literature cost?
Around 70,000 dong for an adult, which at roughly 26,000 dong to the US dollar is under three dollars. Students pay less with a card. The ticket covers all five courtyards, the stelae and the rear hall with the bronze statues.
What are the stone stelae at the Temple of Literature?
Eighty-two stone tablets standing on carved turtles, each carrying the names of the doctors who passed the royal examinations between 1442 and 1779. UNESCO added them to its Memory of the World register, and they are the reason the site matters historically rather than architecturally.
How long do you need at the Temple of Literature?
About an hour. The complex is five courtyards deep and takes twenty minutes to walk end to end, and the stelae and the rear hall are worth the rest. Add time in graduation season, when the courtyards fill with students photographing each other.
Is the Temple of Literature on a banknote?
The Khue Van Cac pavilion inside it appears on the 100,000 dong note, and it serves as a symbol of Hanoi generally. Holding the note up against the pavilion is the standard photograph, and the gate staff have seen it several thousand times.
When is the best time to visit?
Early morning, before the coaches and before the heat. The complex opens around eight and the first hour is quiet. It fills with graduating students in May and June and with families before exams, which is interesting to watch but crowded.