Explore the real-world places that appear in The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Hanoi Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem Lake, Temple of Literature, French Colonial Prison, Hanoi Railway Station and 10 more.
Ancient streets of central Hanoi — Family refuge and urban survival
Khue and her granddaughter Huong live in a cramped house in the Old Quarter during the American War. The narrow, winding streets provide shelter and community as they navigate hunger, air raids, and the chaos of wartime Hanoi. Huong learns her grandmother's stories in this labyrinthine neighborhood, where neighbors huddle together and families survive on minimal rations. The Old Quarter represents the resilient urban heart where Khue maintains dignity and connection despite devastation.
Hanoi's Old Quarter dates back to the 11th century and was the original center of the city. Its narrow streets were named after the goods once sold there—Silver Street, Silk Street, Paper Street. It survived French colonization and became a dense working-class neighborhood where Vietnamese resistance and cultural life flourished.
The Old Quarter remains one of Southeast Asia's most vibrant historic neighborhoods, now a major tourist destination. Its ancient architecture, street food vendors, and labyrinthine layout have been largely preserved, though gentrification is accelerating. Visitors can walk the same streets where the novel's characters lived.
Visit: Hanoi Old Quarter Historic District (historic site)
Center of Hanoi — A symbol of peace and continuity
Hoan Kiem Lake appears as Hanoi's spiritual center, a place of beauty that endures amid war. Huong recalls walks with her grandmother along the lake's shore, moments of respite from bombardment and hunger. The lake represents continuity with pre-war life and the possibility of peace. The Turtle Tower on the lake symbolizes Vietnam's ancient resistance and resilience that Khue embodies in her stories.
Hoan Kiem Lake has been central to Hanoi's identity for nearly a thousand years. Legend says a golden turtle god helped Vietnamese hero Le Loi defeat Chinese invaders in the 15th century. The lake became a sacred symbol of Vietnamese independence and cultural identity.
Hoan Kiem Lake is Hanoi's most beloved public space, surrounded by gardens, temples, and walking paths. The Turtle Tower stands on a small island, and the lake is accessible for strolling year-round. It remains a place where locals and visitors contemplate history and nature.
Visit: Hoan Kiem Lake Park (park)
Van Mieu Street, Hanoi — Vietnam's first university
The Temple of Literature represents the intellectual and spiritual traditions that Khue's family once honored. Khue's memories include references to Confucian learning and the educated men in her family before the wars destroyed their world. The temple embodies the cultural continuity that the family struggles to preserve as their educated son disappears into the French colonial system and later into war.
Built in 1070, the Temple of Literature was Vietnam's first university and center of Confucian learning for nearly a thousand years. It educated Vietnam's elite for centuries and symbolized the nation's commitment to scholarship and virtue. The temple survived many wars and occupations.
The Temple of Literature is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and major tourist attraction. Visitors can explore the temple's courtyards, stone tortoise monuments bearing scholars' names, and museums documenting Vietnam's educational heritage. It remains a sacred space for Vietnamese visitors.
Visit: Temple of Literature (Van Mieu) (historic site)
Central Hanoi — Site of interrogation and torture
Khue's son is imprisoned and tortured here during the French colonial period in her traumatic memories. The prison represents the systematic violence inflicted on Vietnamese resistance fighters and the colonial system that fractured her family. Her son's suffering in these cells haunts Khue throughout her life and shapes her desperate efforts to protect her remaining family.
The Hoa Lo Prison, known as the 'Hanoi Hilton' by American POWs, was built by French colonists in 1896 to hold political prisoners. It became infamous for torture and brutal conditions. Vietnamese revolutionaries were imprisoned and executed here during the independence struggle.
Part of Hoa Lo Prison remains as a museum documenting both French colonial repression and later American prisoners held there. The museum presents Vietnam's perspective on colonialism and war. Some sections have been demolished for modern development.
Visit: Hoa Lo Prison Museum (museum)
Le Duan Boulevard — Gateway and separation
The railway station represents departure and loss in the family's history. Khue's husband's death and the separation of family members during wartime are connected to journeys from this colonial-era station. The trains that departed from here carried soldiers, evacuees, and separated loved ones, embodying the forced dispersal of Vietnamese families by war and colonialism.
Hanoi Railway Station was built by the French in 1902 as part of their colonial infrastructure. It became a major hub connecting Hanoi to other parts of Vietnam and French Indochina. During wars, the station was a place of mass evacuation and military deployment.
Hanoi Railway Station remains a functioning transportation hub and architectural landmark. Its French colonial design is well-preserved, and it continues to serve as a symbol of Hanoi's connection to its past. The station is open to visitors and operating trains.
Visit: Hanoi Railway Station (landmark)
Central Vietnam — Khue's ancestral homeland and farmland
Ha Tinh Province is Khue's birthplace and the rural heart of the family's identity. Her memories of this region—rice fields, mountains, village life—anchor her sense of home and belonging. The family's agricultural roots and connection to the land are tied to Ha Tinh, where Khue's parents worked the earth. The province represents the Vietnam of tradition, family unity, and natural beauty that the wars devastated.
Ha Tinh Province in north-central Vietnam has been an agricultural region for centuries, known for rice farming, fishing, and traditional village life. The region was a stronghold of Vietnamese resistance during both French colonial rule and the American War, making it a target for bombing and military campaigns.
Ha Tinh Province remains primarily rural and agricultural, with rice paddies, small villages, and coastal areas. The region has preserved much of its traditional character, though modern development is increasing. It is part of the broader Vinh region and accessible to visitors exploring rural Vietnam.
Visit: Ha Tinh Province (historic site)
Ha Tinh's major city center — Economic and cultural hub
Vinh, the capital of Nghe An Province near Ha Tinh, represents the larger urban context of Khue's region. The city's connections to the countryside and its role as a regional center reflect the family's ties between rural and urban Vietnam. Vinh was heavily bombed during the American War, and its devastation mirrors the suffering Khue and her family endured.
Vinh was a prosperous port city and cultural center in north-central Vietnam. It was the birthplace of Ho Chi Minh and a center of Vietnamese resistance. The city was heavily damaged during the American War by massive bombing campaigns, becoming a symbol of civilian suffering.
Vinh has been rebuilt and is now a modern provincial city with museums, markets, and waterfront development. It serves as a gateway to exploring rural Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The city has memorials to the bombing and the war.
Visit: Vinh City (historic site)
Northeast Vietnam-China border — Escape and return
The border represents the desperate hope of escape that haunts Khue's family. Her memories reference the desire to flee Vietnam's wars, and the border embodies both the possibility of survival and the tragedy of those who could not escape. The crossing symbolizes the family's fractured geography and the weight of displacement that shapes Huong's understanding of her grandmother's sacrifice.
The Dong Dang border crossing at Lang Son Province has been a strategic crossing point between Vietnam and China for centuries. It was used by refugees fleeing conflict and became significant during both French colonial and American War periods. The border area saw fierce fighting during the Vietnam-China War of 1979.
Dong Dang is now a functioning international border crossing where tourists can travel between Vietnam and China. The area has modern infrastructure while preserving war memorials and historical sites. It is accessible to visitors with appropriate documentation.
Visit: Dong Dang Border Crossing (landmark)
Northern Vietnam — Ancestral agricultural landscape
The Red River Delta is the geographical and spiritual heart of Khue's ancestral memory. Her family's connection to this fertile region—its rice paddies, waterways, and agricultural cycles—forms the foundation of her identity and the stories she tells Huong. The delta represents the pre-war world of stability and natural harmony that the family lost, and it anchors Khue's sense of Vietnamese rootedness.
The Red River Delta is one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited civilizations, with settlement dating back thousands of years. It has been the cradle of Vietnamese culture, the center of rice agriculture, and a densely populated region that supported dynasties and kingdoms. The delta was intensively farmed and carefully engineered with dikes and irrigation systems.
The Red River Delta remains Vietnam's most densely populated and agriculturally important region. Rice paddies still dominate the landscape, though urbanization is rapid. The delta is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and accessible for visitors seeking to understand rural Vietnamese life.
Visit: Red River Delta (historic site)
Hanoi suburbs — Spiritual refuge and beauty
The Perfume Pagoda represents the spiritual and natural beauty that persists despite war's devastation. Khue's memories of sacred Buddhist sites and natural mountain landscapes connect to her inner strength and resilience. The pagoda embodies the Vietnamese spiritual tradition that sustains her through trauma and loss.
The Perfume Pagoda complex dates back to the 15th century and is one of Vietnam's most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites. Built into a limestone mountain, it has housed monks and attracted pilgrims for centuries. The pagoda survived wars and remains a sacred site.
The Perfume Pagoda is a major tourist and pilgrimage destination accessible by boat and hiking. Visitors can explore the complex of temples, caves, and grottos within the mountainside. It remains an active Buddhist site and one of Vietnam's most beautiful natural-spiritual places.
Visit: Perfume Pagoda (historic site)
Center of Hanoi — Seat of power and occupation
The Thang Long Citadel represents the seat of power that determined Khue's family's fate through colonial rule and war. The citadel's presence looms over Hanoi, symbolizing the foreign and state authority that controlled Vietnamese lives. Khue's memories of living under occupation and the fear of the powerful institutions centered here shape her determination to protect her family.
Thang Long Citadel was built in 1010 and served as the capital of Vietnam for nearly a thousand years. It was seized by the French during colonization and became the administrative center of French Indochina. The citadel was later controlled by the North Vietnamese government during the American War.
Thang Long Imperial Citadel is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and major historical museum. Visitors can explore the fortified complex, royal palaces, and underground tunnels. It houses extensive exhibitions on Vietnamese history from the Ly Dynasty to recent times.
Visit: Thang Long Imperial Citadel (museum)
Hanoi waterfront — Ancient victory and modern life
The Bach Dang River flows through Hanoi and connects to Khue's sense of Vietnamese history and resilience. The river symbolizes both the practical reality of life in Hanoi—where people lived and worked on the water—and the legendary victory of Vietnamese forces against Chinese invaders, embodying the historical continuity of Vietnamese resistance that Khue represents.
The Bach Dang River is famous as the site of the 938 CE victory where Vietnamese commander Tran Hung Dao defeated a Chinese fleet by driving wooden stakes into the river bed, forcing enemy ships to founder. This legendary victory is a cornerstone of Vietnamese national identity and independence.
The Bach Dang River remains a vital waterway through Hanoi, now with modern embankments and urban development along its banks. Visitors can walk along the river and see monuments to the ancient victory. The river is a peaceful contrast to modern Hanoi.
Visit: Bach Dang River (historic site)
West Hanoi — Nature's persistence and beauty
The botanical garden represents the natural world and its persistence that Khue draws strength from. In her memories and in sharing stories with Huong, the beauty of flowers, plants, and the natural cycle of seasons provides solace amid human destruction. The garden embodies the Vietnamese connection to nature and the earth that sustains spiritual and emotional resilience.
Hanoi's botanical gardens were established during French colonial times and contain a diverse collection of tropical plants, trees, and flowers collected from across Indochina. The gardens served as a place of respite and scientific study during colonial times and survived wars.
The Hanoi Botanical Garden remains a peaceful retreat within the city, maintaining its collection of native and exotic plants. It is open to the public and serves as a place for families, couples, and individuals to connect with nature. The garden is well-maintained and accessible.
Visit: Hanoi Botanical Garden (park)
Red River Crossing — Symbol of endurance under bombardment
Long Bien Bridge represents the infrastructure of urban life that endured constant American bombing during the war. The bridge's survival and reconstruction symbolize Vietnamese persistence and ingenuity. For Khue and Hanoi's residents, the bridge was a vital crossing repeatedly targeted by air raids, embodying both the fragility and resilience of daily life amid warfare.
Long Bien Bridge was built by the French in 1902 as the first modern bridge across the Red River, connecting Hanoi to the eastern bank. During the American War, it became one of the most heavily bombed structures in North Vietnam, targeted repeatedly because it was vital for supply lines. North Vietnamese engineers repeatedly repaired it using ingenious methods.
Long Bien Bridge remains in use today, fully restored and still carrying vehicular and pedestrian traffic. It is an iconic structure and symbol of Vietnamese resilience, with war damage visible on some sections. The bridge is accessible to visitors and has become a pilgrimage site for war history tourism.
Visit: Long Bien Bridge (historic site)
Central Hanoi — Documentation of colonial violence and war suffering
The museum preserves testimony to the violence and suffering that fractured families like Khue's. Khue's own memories of her son's imprisonment and torture are part of the larger historical trauma documented here. The museum serves as a collective memorial to suffering and resistance that contextualizes personal stories like Khue's within national history.
Hoa Lo Prison was built by the French in 1896 and became the epicenter of colonial repression against Vietnamese nationalists. Thousands of political prisoners were held, tortured, and executed here. After 1954, the prison held American pilots shot down during bombing raids, earning it the nickname 'Hanoi Hilton' among POWs.
A section of Hoa Lo Prison has been preserved as a museum with exhibits documenting both French colonial violence against Vietnamese independence fighters and the later imprisonment of American pilots. The museum presents Vietnam's perspective on both colonial and war suffering.
Visit: Hoa Lo Prison Museum (museum)
More by Nguyen Phan Que Mai: All Nguyen Phan Que Mai books