In the middle of the lake on Go Rua (Tortoise knoll) sits Thap Rua (Tortoise Tower), an iconic building with a mysterious history of its own.
In 1877, when Vietnam was under the French rule, a man named Ba Kim bribed the French authorities in Hanoi to restore the two-storey Ta Vong Dinh (South Facing Pavilion), which had been built in the late 17th century by the Trinh Lords on the knoll.
A mysterious character Nguyen Ba Kim was the chief of Dong Tho village in the capital’s Tho Xuong district and a catholic, who wanted to build the tower in the shape of
a church.
But Kim was also scheming all along to use the knoll for the purpose of interring his parents’ remains on it. He believed that the knoll was located in the perfect position in terms of geomancy or feng shui as the knoll was situated on long mach (a good layer of earth).
To fool the public, Kim cooked up a tale that he wanted to restore the tower, which then would serve as a “pillow” bringing felicity to the sacred Bao An (Gratitude Requital) pagoda which sat where the current Hanoi Post Office does now.
The French called it Pagode des Supplices (the torture pagoda) as inside there were many sculptures of figures stuck in hell. The pagoda was later destroyed in 1892 by the French.
Kim’s plan was accepted on the understanding that he would retain Ta Vong Dinh. He was only allowed to reinforce the foundation of the tower and build another storey on top of it – a renovation if you will.
Right in the middle of the day he reinforced the tower foundation, then along with his lackeys, he sneakily brought his parents’ remains into the tower for interment.
Perhaps he didn’t pay his lackeys enough as his scheme was uncovered. The remains were dug up and, so it’s said, thrown into the lake, leaving two empty coffins in the foundations.
Because Kim had promised to restore the tower, he dared not delay it. Work continued and in time the three-storey tower was finished.
At first the tower was named after Ba Kim – some consolation, perhaps – but the public protested against the name sand as it was located on the Tortoise Knoll, it quickly became known the Tortoise Tower.
Over time this tower has become synonymous with the lake, just as Hanoi cannot be pictured without Hoan Kiem lake, neither can the lake be pictured without Thap Rua, seemingly floating on the landscape.