* It was known first as '''Long Biên''' (龍邊, "dragon edge"), then '''Tống Bình''' (宋平, "Song peace") and '''Long Đỗ''' (龍肚, "dragon belly"). ''Long Biên'' later gave its name to the famed Long Biên Bridge, built during French colonial times, and more recently to a new district to the east of the Red River. Several older names of Hanoi feature ''long'' (龍, "dragon"), linked to the curved formation of the Red River around the city, which was symbolized as a dragon.