Hanoi Flag Tower

This early nineteenth-century tower, built during the Nguyen dynasty, is one of the few structures of the old citadel to survive the colonial period intact, having been spared when the French demolished much of the surrounding fortifications. Rising in tapering tiers from a stepped brick base to a hexagonal watch chamber, it once served as a lookout and now flies the national flag as a symbol of the capital. Standing within the grounds of the military history museum, it appears often on official imagery.