Today, Van Mieu Quoc Tu Giam (The Temple of Literature) is a place to attract a lot of tourists to Hanoi. Not only is the witness of the thousand years of Hanoi capital, Quoc Tu Giam is also the school "born" many talented talent for the country. Van Mieu was constructed in 1070 during Ly Thanh Tong's dynasty. Its original purpose was to honor Confucius. In 1076, the first university of Vietnam called Quoc Tu Giam (The Imperial Academy), was established within this temple by Emperor Ly Nhan Tong. That's the reason why the complex has the name of Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam up to now. Initially, Quoc Tu Giam was the school for princes and children of royal families and then expanded in the following year to admit top students from around the country. Now, one special thing about this place is that there are 82 Doctors' stone tablets. They are tombstones with names and origins of 1304 doctors placed on the backs of stone tortoises. Van Mieu has always been the symbol of the studiousity of Vietnamese.
