Photo exhibition «Rạng rỡ non sông Việt Nam» (Radiant Vietnam)

   Eighty-one years separate today's Hanoi from that September morning in 1945 when the Declaration of Independence was read out on Ba Đình Square. To mark the anniversary the city opens a photography display right in the centre, by the northern shore of Hoàn Kiếm Lake — the quietest stop on a very loud holiday programme, and the one where you simply walk and look.

   The display belongs to the cultural programme announced by the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism for the 81st National Day. Several other venues in the same programme run alongside it:

• — an anniversary display of books and newspapers at the Hanoi Library, 47 Bà Triệu;
• — creative products from the traditional craft villages at the exhibition centre 45 Tràng Tiền;
• — the contemporary craft art space at 61 Tràng Tiền;
• — a reading festival, folk games and wood-carving sessions at Văn Miếu – Quốc Tử Giám from 26 to 30 August;
• — the themed display «Tâm son, chí thép» at the Hỏa Lò Prison Relic.

   The peak comes on the evening of 2 September: fireworks are launched from five sites — outside the Hà Nội mới newspaper office and the central post office downtown, from Coconut Island in Thống Nhất Park, from the Formula 1 track at the National Sports Complex, and from Lạc Long Quân flower garden. Fifteen minutes, from 21:00 to 21:15.

   Who it is for: residents who want an unhurried outing with family, and visitors who want to understand what the city is actually celebrating. The venue is within walking distance of the lake and the Old Quarter, so you can fold the visit into an ordinary stroll.

   One honest caveat: neither opening hours nor admission conditions appear in the city announcement, and we do not invent them on the organiser's behalf. Plan a daytime visit and check the schedule on site, especially as central venues shift their hours over the holidays.

   Ten days give you room to pick a calm morning for the photographs and keep the evening of the second for the fireworks.