Filming in Hanoi, Vietnam
Filming in Hanoi, Vietnam
As the capital city of Vietnam with interesting sightseeing, food, culture, stories, Hanoi is among the top filming locations in Vietnam. Following content will give you insights about what do you need to know while filming here, and where can you film.
Old quarter, French quarter, Hoan Kiem lake
Ngoc Son temple – To be able to film here, you need to acquire a permission from Hanoi relics & sightseeing management board (Ban quản lý di tích & danh thắng Hà Nội) via Foreign Press Center (FPC). Entrance ticket is 30,000 VND
In Old Quarter, it’s hard to find a place for car/van to stop and wait, car usually only can drop you, then go out of Old Quarter to park, then come back, and sometimes you have to wait for quite long. When you visit Old Quarter, you may find 4-7 seaters parking around, but mostly it’s they park in front of their house, or the owner of the car has a good relationship with the place they park at.
St Joseph Cathedral is the most well-known and ancient church in Hanoi. To film inside the church, beside the general film permit, you need to acquire permission from the Father in charge of the church.
Hang Ma street
Quan Chuong gate – the only remaining old gate in Hanoi from feudal period.
Hang Ma street is one of the most significant streets in Old quarter, due to it usually sell decoration stuff for festivals, holidays, celebrations and they look really colorful and interesting.
Hang Thiec street is a street of metal products.
Street market, vendors
Old propaganda poster shop. The owner of the shop, Mr. Tran Cong Mien was interviewed by Sky News, United Kingdom when the North Korea – United States 2nd summit happened. Check it here.
Long Bien bridge & red river
“Banana island”: the land under Long Bien bridge which is so green with lots of banana trees, thus, local people call it “banana island” and it’s not an official name. It’s not accessible by car. Only motorbike, bicycles and pedestrians are allowed to commute via Long Bien bridge. Thus, you can go by car to the beginning of Long Bien bridge then walk to ‘middle’ of the bridge, then walk down to the ‘land’ by stairs. Actually, walking through Long Bien bridge may also look cool (the pedestrian path is small, though).
Hanoi Ceramic Road
Is a ceramic mosaic mural along the walls of the Red River dike system in Hanoi. With walls covered with mosaic images representing Vietnamese history, culture and tradition, this is not only a gate into the discovery of Vietnam and its people but also an unbelievable and delicate artwork. The road is one of the major projects that were developed on the occasion of the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long, Hanoi. The ceramic extends 3.85 kilometers (2.39 miles) and is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “World’s largest ceramic mosaic” in 2010. The idea originated from the journalist Nguyen Thu Thuy, who won a prize in Hanoi architecture contest for her idea of transforming the dike system into a ceramic mosaic. The work of decoration began in 2007 and completed in 2010. Participating in the work of decoration aren’t only Vietnamese artists but also foreign embassies ad cultural centers in Hanoi such as the Goethe-Institute, Allliance Francaise, British Council and other cultural centers. The mosaic wall mural is made from ceramic tesserae which are the product of Bat Trang, a nearby village famous for its Bat Trang porcelain. The contet of the mosaic represents the decorative patter from different periods in the history of Vietnam: Phung Nguyen culture, Dong Son culture, Ly Dynasty, Tran Dynasty, Le Dynasty, Nguyen Dynasty. Also incorporated on the wall are traditional architectural designs of Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups, modern artworks, paintings of Hanoi and children’s drawings. The road is from An Duong border gate on Yen Phu street to Van Kiep border gate.
Hoang Hoa Tham street
a street with lots of plants and animals for sale (as pet, such as bird, fishes, dog, cat). This is an one-way street for car, and it usually doesn’t have space for parking along the way, thus, driver usually need to go out of it to find a parking place after drop off crew.
There is a small ‘market’ for old stuff at a small alley/space at Hoang Hoa Tham street which usually happens at Saturday morning.
Ho Chi Minh mausoleum
Here is an article wrote by CNN travel, a guide when visiting. And here is the video by Al Jareeza on the occasion of Ho Chi Minh’s 50th year since death. A note that the flag rising ceremony starts at 6am, and flag closing ceremony starts at 9pm. The mausoleum is closed on Mondays and Fridays, except if it’s a national holiday. After applying for film permit from Foreign Press Center, the Center would help you to apply for a general permit from the Mausoleum.
Temple of Literature
Temple of literature is an iconic place in the history of Vietnam. Being considered as first university of Vietnam, this temple was the place which princes and sons of high-ranking officials in feudal time of Vietnam studied.
Vietnam government tried their best to keep the architecture and atmosphere intact. Although, due to time, renovation and fixing are needed.
Beside being a popular tourist spot, Temple of Literature is also a place that many national/meaningful events being organized.
Tran Quoc temple
Thang Long Citadel
SOFITEL Legend Metropole Hanoi is one of the most famous hotels in Hanoi. It has a long history and is French-built building. To film at this hotel, you usually need to contact Marketing & Communication Department of the hotel to ask for permission. Or you can ask us, Vietnam Filming Fixer to help you with this.
Thong Nhat park
Museum of Ethnicity
Water puppet show at Thang Long water puppet show and Longlink water puppet show.
Thang Long water puppet is the most famous water puppet theatre in Hanoi. Their location is at Dinh Tien Hoang street, which view directly to Hoan Kiem lake, which make them more obvious to contact for filming. However, they usually charge high filming cost if you want to interview their people. And their performance stage is indoor which make it dark for filming. They usually don’t allow you to use lights for filming, due to it affects their artists and audiences. Thus, we usually advise film crew to film at Longlink water puppet show instead. They are at outdoor stage (with cover if it rains) at Van Lake with opposite to Temple of Literature, so their location is also very convenient.
Silk village & embroidery village
Bat Trang ceramic village
Duong Lam Ancient village
Ba Vi
Note: Filming is advisable if you apply for a film permit, read about how to apply for a film permit here.
Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism, Huyện Sơn Tây, Hanoi
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Hanoi is a special place in Vietnam that is being filmed a lot. Specially Old Quarter. While filming at Old Quarter, there are a lot of interesting things happen. However, it’s also harder to move around and find a spacious spot to film. In this video, you will see our Interviewee walking through the streets of Hanoi, visiting 87 Ma May Ancient House, buying fruits as well as sharing about life in Hanoi.
Temple of Literature is a significant important place in Vietnam history and culture. It’s the first university in Vietnam and it has been in the heart of millions of Vietnamese. Many international media & journalism want to understand the story of Temple of Literature, but it’s not always easy to get access for filming and interview.
Vietnam Filming Fixer can help you get access for filming and interviewing at Temple of Literature.
