National Day (2 September) art programme and fireworks

   If you are in Hanoi in early September, keep one evening free for the area around Hoàn Kiếm Lake. The capital closes its biggest state holiday with open-air stages right in the middle of the Old Quarter, and the best spot goes to whoever arrives early rather than whoever pays most.

   This is the 81st anniversary of independence. The count starts in 1945, when Hồ Chí Minh read the Declaration of Independence on Ba Đình Square, about two kilometres west of the lake, and proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. It followed the August Revolution, the uprising that swept Vietnamese cities in a matter of weeks.

   The Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports has now signed off the plan: 13 art programmes performed by the city's theatres for the public, spread across three evenings — 19 August, 1 September and 2 September. For the two September nights:

   evening of 1 September — Hanoi Chèo Theatre at Vườn hoa Đền Bà Kiệu in Hoàn Kiếm, Thăng Long Song and Dance Theatre at Đan Phượng commune and the Hanoi Circus and Variety Arts Theatre at Minh Châu
evening of 2 September — Hanoi Chèo Theatre again at Vườn hoa Đền Bà Kiệu, Thăng Long Song and Dance Theatre on the Mỹ Đình stadium square, Hanoi Drama Theatre at Phúc Sơn commune, Hanoi Cải lương Theatre at Bát Tràng, Thăng Long Water Puppet Theatre at Đại Xuyên and the city Culture and Library Centre at Hòa Lạc

   For anyone staying centrally, the one to note is Vườn hoa Đền Bà Kiệu, the flower garden on the north-east corner of Hoàn Kiếm Lake, beside Ngọc Sơn temple and the red Thê Húc bridge. What plays there is chèo, the folk opera of the northern delta — sung outdoors, no tickets, and anyone walking past can stop and watch. Exact start times for 1 and 2 September have not been published; the plan says only «evening». The six programmes on 19 August begin at 20:00.

   There are fireworks that evening, but not at this venue. Under city plan No. 330/KH-UBND of 22 August, shells go up on 2 September from 21:00 to 21:15 simultaneously from five positions: in front of the «Hà Nội mới» newspaper offices and in front of the Hanoi Central Post Office, both right on Hoàn Kiếm Lake; on Đảo Dừa islet in Thống Nhất Park; on the F1 track at the National Sports Complex; and in the Lạc Long Quân flower garden. Vườn hoa Đền Bà Kiệu is not on that list — the nearest firing position, by the post office, is a few minutes on foot along Đinh Tiên Hoàng street. The city puts stages at the firing points themselves as well: the department names the Mỹ Đình stadium square, Thống Nhất Park and the Lạc Long Quân flower garden.

   The evening suits everyone: families with small children, groups of friends, foreigners spending their first Tết Độc lập in Hanoi. No seating, no reservations, come and go as you like.

   Last year's lessons still apply. The centre gridlocks the moment the last shell fades, and city police advised arriving early by public transport. Get to the lake an hour ahead and wait out the crush in a café afterwards.

   One more reason to leave the car behind: from 29 August to 2 September all Hanoi public transport is free — every bus and both metro lines (Cát Linh – Hà Đông and Nhổn – ga Hà Nội), for residents and visitors alike.

   A decision taken only on 25 August adds to the daytime: the Hanoi People's Committee agreed to open every paid landmark, historic site and cultural venue in the city free of charge on 2 September. Which sites end up on the list, and how entry will be handled, is still to be announced — the city's culture and finance departments have been told to issue the guidance. It is worth planning the daytime around that: museums and temples cost nothing on the day, and the evening already belongs to the fireworks.