Kham Thien Street

Kham Thien Street stretches from Le Duan Street to Cho Dua Gate (O Cho Dua). The 1170-meter street is considered a crowded one because of its dense resident population and 26 tooth harrow shaped lanes on both roadsides. Some lanes still keep their ancient names like: Trung Ta, Trung Thuan, Lenh Cu, Tho Quan.
The street was named Kham Thien because there used to be Kham Thien Giam tower, where officials in charge of monitoring weather, astronomy and calendar worked from Ly to Le dynasty.

Before August revolution, Kham Thien was famous as an entertainment center. However, it is also a historical vestige. At the house number 312, Ngo Gia Tu and 20 other people discussed on June 17 1929 to found Indochina Communist Party-one of Vietnam Communist Party’s precursors.

The street is remembered most by the horrifying B52 bombing on December 26 1972. There were so many people who died and destroyed houses that the street became the main context for the famous movie “Hanoi child”.

The street has recovered to become a crowded trade area with boutiques, small restaurants and a cinema were built. Visitors can hardly find a bombing trace, except for a monument of a woman holding her child who was killed by bombs. Nowadays, it is easy to find a clothing store on the street, from boutiques to shops for designed clothes. Buildings, stores, restaurants really bring new vitality to the street, but the dolorous past can never be forgot.