Hanoi high school gets a historic mural makeover

The Phan Dinh Phung High School, located in Hanoi's Ba Dinh District, was formerly a male pedagogical institute (École Normale d'instituteur) used to train elementary teachers under the French colonial regime.

In 1923, it became the Indochina College Primary school (École Primaire Superieur Indochinoise, aka E.P.S.I). The present Phan Dinh Phung High School was founded on March 10, 1973 and later on merged with Hoang Dieu High School in 1996.

The school is celebrating its 45th birthday with an art project in which a group of artists paint murals of iconic Hanoi landmarks on its compound walls.

It has an area of 11,000 square meters and its long walls face major streets like Cua Bac, Phan Dinh Phung and Quan Thanh, giving the artists a spacious enough canvas to exhibit their talent and for the public to appreciate it. 

The project began on October 8 and three artists worked tirelessly for about 10 days.

Three paintings of the ancient gate, the One Pillar Pagoda and the Dong Xuan Market.

Hanoi’s One Pillar Pagoda has been painted on a 1.7 meter high wall, using its yellow background. This unique Buddhist temple is considered one of Vietnam’s most iconic.

The Hanoi Opera House was built by the French colonial administration in the early 20th century. 

The Long Bien Bridge is a big part of Hanoi’s history. The bridge went through both major wars against the French and Americans. Being bombed more than 10 times has only strengthened its historical importance.

Hanoi had many rivers and lakes within the city and waterway travel was an important part of daily life in the capital city.

There are still some wall sections to be painted, but they are already a public attraction in this age of smartphones and selfies.

A woman in a colorful traditional long dress ao dai poses in front of a mural.