☰Temple of Literature

Vietnam's first university, founded in 1070 under the Ly dynasty and dedicated to Confucius. Five successive courtyards lead through ornamental gates to the Hall of the Great Synthesis; in the third courtyard stand 82 stone tortoises carrying stelae inscribed with the names of doctoral laureates from exams held between 1442 and 1779. The whole complex is one of the most intact pre-colonial monuments in northern Vietnam, and a national symbol — it appears on the 100,000-dong banknote.