West Lake is the biggest lake of the City of Hanoi. There are so many legends around it. Here some: One legend suggests that West Lake was shaped after the battle between Lac Long Quan and a night-tail fox spirit, that’s why the lake was once called “Fox Corpse Swamp”.
Another folk story claimed that original name of the lake is “Golden Buffalo Lake” because it was formed from struggle of a buffalo after the disappearance of her calf. In 11th century, the lake was named “Foggy Lake” (and you’ll see why…) from its misty condition and ultimately its name was changed to “West Lake”.