The programme started with a ritual at the temple of King Dinh Tien Hoang and King Le Dai Hanh at the former royal capital of Hoa Lu in Ninh Binh.

Then a drum performance and unicorn and dragon dances warmed up the atmosphere before King Ly Thai To’s proclamation to move the capital city was read out.

King Ly Thai To, the first king of the Ly Dynasty, made the strategic decision to move the country’s capital city from Hoa Lu to Dai La (now Hanoi).

Actors from Hanoi and Ninh Binh dressed up as the King, the Queen and members of the royal court, and got on a dragon boat to leave for Hanoi, following the journey the King in 1010.

*** The same day, an exhibition of photographs and documents entitled “Ho Chi Minh City: renewal, development and integration” opened at Lam Son park in Ho Chi Minh City as an activity to mark the 1,000^th anniversary of Hanoi and the 9^th municipal Party Congress to open on October 5.

The 10-day exhibition is among many activities being held in the city coinciding with the 10 festive days in Hanoi.

For the occasion, the city is decorated with flags, coloured lights, banners and slogans to mark Hanoi's birthday and the municipal Party Congress.

In the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, many activities have been organised to celebrate Hanoi’s birthday since late September.

An exhibition of nearly 300 photographs of Hanoi and Thua Thien Hue opened at the provincial Ho Chi Minh Museum and will run until October 15.

On this occasion, Pham Chi Luong, a crafts man from the Truong Son drum casting centre in Hue city made a pair of drums 2.8m tall with a diameter of 2.2m for the celebration.
Another crafts man also from Phuong Duc ward in Hue, Nguyen Van Thuy, made a giant bronze gong for a performance at the celebrations in Hanoi.

*** A thousand doves, the symbol of peace, were released at the opening ceremony of the Thang Long-Hanoi millennium anniversary celebrations on October 1.

The owner of the doves is Pham Tai Thu, who was born in the central province of Quang Nam. Thu started a business in the Central Highland city of Da Lat growing orchids and later became famous for his flowers, which have been presented as gifts to several central provinces and Ho Chi Minh City.

He first started to raise birds in 1998, breeding from Vietnamese, French, Thai and Japanese varieties.

So far he has set up bird sanctuaries in Da Lat, Dam Sen park in Ho Chi Minh City, and Pham Van Dong park on Son Tra island, as well as at a steel plant in the central city of Da Nang, and has raised a total of 3,800 doves.

His desire to release 1,000 doves at the opening ceremony of the Thang Long-Hanoi millennium celebrations as a gift to the capital received the support of the city’s leaders.

The doves’ new home will be in Hanoi’s Botanical Gardens.