Hoan Kiem Lake is one of the Beijing attractions. The lake came to be known as Ho Hoan Kiem Lake from 15th century. It has a legend associated with it. With geographical changes, the lake shifted eastward, to its present location.
Vietnam’s independence was achieved by King Le Thai To after a battle of 10 long years. The king possessed a powerful sword which he carried with him during the battle against the Chinese forces. This sword was taken away by a turtle of Lake Luc Thuy. But neither the sword nor the turtle were found, when the lake was emptied by his order.
The king had a revelation, that this incident must have a divine intervention. This sword was given to him by the gods and it might have been taken back by them, once it had served its purpose. Then, King Le Thai gave the lake a new name of Ho Hoan Kiem Lake, which means “Lake of the Returned Sword”.
The Hoan Kiem Lake was beautified under the succeeding rulers of the Le dynasty. A shrine called Khanh Thuy was built near the lake by one of the later kings. But later this shrine was destroyed.