Like many countries (Avenida Libertador, anyone?), most cities in Vietnam have the same street names, almost all of which are named for Vietnamese heroes and/or kings. This can be confusing for visitors, but here are some of the more prominent:
Pham Ngu Lao - a 13th century Vietnamese general of the Tran Dynasty
Le Loi - Vietnamese emperor in the 15 century who liberated Vietnam from Chinese rule. He is said to have been granted a magic sword by a turtle on the eve of a major battle. After his victory he returned the sword to the turtle in its lake.
Hai Ba Trung - The two Trung Sisters rode elephants against the Chinese way back in the first century AD.
Le Thanh Ton - Vietnamese emperor not long after Le Loi. He is known as the 'Vietnamese Hammurabi' because he drew up a comprehensive legal code and attempted to rule Vietnam through proper Confucian principles.
Tran Hung Dao - a Military commander during the 13th century, who managed to repel not one, not two, but three Mongol invasions.
Nguyen Trai - Scholar, poet, political thinker, and close friend of Le Loi. His writings helped inspire the Vietnamese people to rise up against the Ming Dynasty.
Some notable exceptions are streets named for Frenchman (Pasteur, Yersim, Alexandre de Rhodes) and Dong Khoi, know to the French as Catinat, the RVN as Tu Do (Freedom) and now Dong Khoi (Guerrilla Uprising).
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