Ngoc Son Temple

This guide to Ngoc Son Temple opens with the 2016 death of Cu Rua, the giant softshell turtle many Hanoians linked to the legend of a golden turtle god reclaiming a magic sword from King Le Loi after his fifteenth-century victory over Ming invaders. Crossing the red Huc Bridge onto the temple's small island, you'll pass the Pen Tower and the stone Ink Slab that scholar Nguyen Van Sieu added when he reshaped the site in the 1860s. Inside, shrines also honor a Mongol-era general and a god of letters.