More streets in Hanoi will be shut to traffic at weekends so pedestrians can enjoy Hoan Kiem Lake from October. 

This was announced at a recent meeting of the municipal People’s Committee. 

The streets include Dinh Tien Hoang, Le Lai, Le Thach, Dinh Le, Nguyen Xi, Trang Tien (from Ngo Quyen to Dinh Tien Hoang), Hang Khay, Le Thai To, Hang Trong (from St. Joseph’s Cathedral to Le Thai To), Nha Tho and the Cathedral square. 

The streets, which run around Hoan Kiem Lake, will be closed to traffic from 19:00 - 2:00 am in summer and 18:00 to 2:00 am in winter from Friday to Sunday and on some holidays. 

The inauguration ceremony is set to be held on October 7 as part of activities to mark the 62nd anniversary of the capital's Liberation Day (October 10, 1954). 

The piloted period will run until the Lunar New Year (Tet) Holiday 2017. 

The first pedestrian streets in Hanoi – Hang Ngang, Hang Dao, Hang Duong and Dong Xuan in the Old Quarter - were inaugurated in 2004, where visitors could walk, shop and sample street foods. 

In 2014, six more walking streets were launched, also in the Old Quarter.

VNA