24k gold leaf inside Thai Hoa Palace in Hue

Sau hon 200 nam, dien Thai Hoa da xuong cap va duoc Trung tam Bao ton Di tich Co do Hue tien hanh trung tu tong the di tich cuoi thang 11.2021 voi tong kinh phi 128 ti dong, nguon ngan sach nha nuoc.

After more than 200 years, Thai Hoa Palace has degraded and the Hue Monuments Conservation Center carried out a comprehensive restoration of the monument at the end of November 2021 with a total cost of 128 billion VND from the state budget.

Dac biet, toan bo he thong suon nha cua ngoi dien duoc lam bang go lim. Trong so 80 cot cua ngoi dien, co 66 cot duoc son son, ve rong thep vang la 24k, mot cong doan het suc quan trong trong cong tac trung tu dien Thai Hoa.

In particular, the entire frame system of the palace is made of ironwood. Of the 80 pillars of the palace, 66 are painted with red paint and painted with dragons and gilded with 24k gold leaf, a very important step in the restoration of Thai Hoa Palace.

Theo tim hieu cua Lao Dong, hang chuc cay cot ben trong dien Thai Hoa phai trai qua nhieu cong doan xu ly, tu son lot, mai min, son cam, ve tay, thep vang...cung nhieu buoc ky cong khac.

According to Lao Dong's investigation, dozens of pillars inside Thai Hoa Palace had to go through many stages of processing, from priming, smoothing, lacquering, hand painting, gilding... and many other elaborate steps.

Cac cong trinh cung dien trieu Nguyen co kien truc go duoc son son thep vang, tao nen net dac trung va khang dinh vi the cua vuong trieu. Tuy vay, cac nguon tu lieu anh tu truoc den nay khong cho thay nhieu thong tin ve nghe thep vang o nhung cong trinh quan trong nhu dien Thai Hoa.

The Nguyen Dynasty palaces have wooden architecture painted with gold, creating a unique feature and affirming the position of the Dynasty. However, previous photographic sources have not shown much information about the gold-plating profession in important works such as Thai Hoa Palace.

Dang chu y, son son thep vang can phai co nhung vat lieu gom son lay tu nhua cay son cua vung nui Bac bo, vang quy, bac quy, dau hoa, dau trau, bot mau, nhua thong, vai trang, bot go xay min…cung vo so vat lieu khac.

Notably, gilding requires materials including paint from the resin of the Northern mountainous region, gold leaf, silver leaf, kerosene, tung oil, pigments, rosin, white cloth, finely ground wood powder, and countless other materials.

Tat ca cac cau kien go deu duoc nhung nghe nhan can than thuc hien bang nhieu cong doan kho. De lam duoc cong viec son son thep vang, dac biet la phuc che ben trong dien Thai Hoa nghe nhan phai co tay nghe rat cao, phai duoc lua chon can than.

All wooden components are carefully made by artisans through many difficult steps. To do the work of gilding and lacquering, especially the restoration of the interior of Thai Hoa Palace, the artisans must be highly skilled and carefully selected.

Artist draws dragon mascot.

Gold powder is finely sifted from 24k gold leaf.

Mot cot cua dien Thai Hoa da hoan thien cong doan thep vang.

A pillar of Thai Hoa Palace has completed the gilding process.

Mac du du kien cong trinh se hoan thanh vao thang 8.2025, nhung don vi thi cong dang no luc ve dich truoc nam 2025. Dang chu y, ngay 22.9 vua qua, dien Thai Hoa duoc thao go rao chan xung quanh, mo loi di vao phan chinh dien de du khach tien tham quan, tan thay cac nghe nhan dang thuc hien cong tac trung tu.

Although the project is expected to be completed in August 2025, the construction unit is striving to reach the finish line before 2025. Notably, on September 22, the Thai Hoa Palace had its surrounding fences removed, opening the path to the main palace for visitors to conveniently visit and see artisans performing the restoration work.

Dien Thai Hoa duoc khoi cong xay dung thang 2.1805 va hoan thanh chi sau 8 thang. Day la noi dat ngai vang va la noi dang quang cua 13 vi vua trieu Nguyen. Cung voi cac cung dien, lang tam khac cua Hue, dien Thai Hoa la mot cong trinh nam trong Quan the di tich Co do Hue duoc UNESCO cong nhan la di san van hoa the gioi nam 1993.

Thai Hoa Palace began construction in February 1805 and was completed in just 8 months. This was the place where the throne was placed and where 13 kings of the Nguyen Dynasty were crowned. Along with other palaces and mausoleums in Hue, Thai Hoa Palace is a structure located in the Complex of Hue Monuments, recognized by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage in 1993.

Hien cong trinh dang duoc trung tu voi tong dien tich 7.100 m2, trong do khuon vien dien Thai Hoa la 4.851,3 m2, dien Thai Hoa 1.440 m2, san Dai Trieu Nghi 1.640 m2.

The project is currently being renovated with a total area of 7,100 m2, of which the Thai Hoa Palace campus is 4,851.3 m2, Thai Hoa Palace is 1,440 m2, and Dai Trieu Nghi yard is 1,640 m2.