Swan boats on West Lake

Vladimir Illich Lenin - an impressive monument to him

The tower and fortress are closed to the public, so I don't know what it is

The second picture belongs to Tran Quoc Pagoda. The red tower has a small buddha like this in every opening.

The yellow building is the presidential palace - The red banner I believe says Happy New Year 2008

You don't see too many hammer and sickles here, but this is bizarre.

Pathway to the Tran Quoc Pagoda on West Lake. West Lake is becoming an upscale place with expensive hotels and impossible real estate prices. One hotel has a golf range where you hit the balls out into the water. The servants have to go and find them.

Tran Quoc Pagoda

Note the offerings of food on these altars.

This looks like a casket with offerings of food in front of it - for the corpse? But I don't know if that's what it is.

These "ovens" all had pots burning incense in them. The other picture is a tree which is being held up by poles.

Note the coconuts up in this tree. The other picture is the promenade along the lake which here doesn't look upscale, but all around the lake you see cranes and the demolishing of buildings in order to widen and improve roads.