West Lake

West Lake is a freshwater lake in the center of Hanoi, Vietnam. With a shore length of 17 km (about 10.6 miles), this is the largest lake of the capital and a popular place for recreation with many surrounding gardens, hotels and villas. A small part of West Lake is divided by Thanh Nien road to form Truc Bạch Lake. One district of Hanoi is named after the lake, Tay Ho District.

West Lake was created from a curved part of Red River and appeared in several Vietnamese legends. One legend suggests that West Lake was shaped after the battle between Lac Long Quan and a nine-tailed fox spirit, that's why the lake was once called "Fox Corpse Swamp". Another folk story claimed that original name of the lake is "Golden Buffalo Lake" because it was formed from struggle of a buffalo after the disappearance of her calf. In the 11th century, the lake was named "Foggy Lake" from its misty condition and ultimately its name was changed to "West Lake" in 1573 to avoid the given name of king Le The Tong which was Duy Dam