Resurrecting the Million Dollar Palaces
Originally, on the sacred axis of the Forbidden City - Hue Imperial City, there were 5 typical and important constructions including Thai Hoa Palace, Can Chanh Palace, Can Thanh Palace, Khon Thai Palace and Kien Trung Palace. However, after many natural disasters and the impact of war, Hue Imperial City was greatly affected. Many constructions were completely collapsed, leaving only the foundations.
Therefore, the Government has made efforts to promote the conservation and restoration of relics and has outlined a long-term plan to approve the Plan for the conservation and promotion of the value of Hue Monuments in the period of 1996 - 2010, with a total investment of 720 billion VND to restore more than 80 main construction items. Next, the Government approved the adjustment of the Plan for the conservation and promotion of the value of Hue Monuments in the period of 2010 - 2020, with a total investment of more than 2,300 billion VND to preserve, restore, and embellish more than 171 constructions and construction items.
Over the past decades, many relics in Hue have been successfully restored and renovated. One of the most notable is the Kien Trung Palace Relics Restoration and Renovation Project with a budget of 123 billion VND. The project started in February 2019 and will be completed and put into operation at the end of 2023.
At the same time, at the end of November 2021, the Thai Hoa Palace, the coronation site of 13 Nguyen Dynasty kings, was comprehensively renovated by the Hue Monuments Conservation Center. The total investment for the project is over 128 billion VND. At the end of November 2024, the project was completed with a splendid and majestic appearance.
Heritage in a stable, sustainable phase
From January 2025, Thua Thien - Hue province will officially become the 6th Central Hue City of Vietnam on the basis of preserving and effectively promoting the value of the Ancient Capital Heritage and Hue cultural identity to establish the Central Hue City with the characteristics: Culture, heritage, ecology, environmentally friendly and smart landscape. Exploit and promote comprehensively and effectively the potential and advantages of the heritage city, bring Hue to develop quickly and sustainably and create a driving force to spread to the North Central and Central coastal regions.
Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong, Chairman of the People's Committee of Thua Thien - Hue province, shared that in order to carry out the procedures for implementing the project of renovating and restoring the palaces, Thua Thien - Hue province has conducted a thorough and methodical research and preparation process. Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong hopes to continue receiving attention and support from agencies, organizations and individuals so that the conservation and promotion of heritage values will be increasingly effective, helping Hue develop quickly and sustainably, worthy of being a centrally-run city on the basis of preserving and promoting the values of the ancient capital's cultural heritage and Hue's cultural identity.
“Thua Thien - Hue commits to continue to synchronously and effectively implement international programs and action plans and those of the Vietnamese Government on preserving and promoting the value of cultural heritage with specific solutions to create new vitality for the heritage, so that the heritage will last forever and increasingly spread to serve the socio-economic development of the locality,” said Mr. Phuong.
The results achieved over the past years have demonstrated that the conservation and promotion of Hue Cultural Heritage values have entered a phase of stability and sustainable development. Hue has been gradually assessed by domestic and foreign individuals and organizations, especially UNESCO, as a leading locality in the conservation and promotion of heritage values, with the potential to become a standard center for conservation technology transfer in the Asia-Pacific region.
In the coming time, Hue will continue the renovation and restoration of Can Chanh Palace with a budget of nearly 200 billion VND and is expected to be completed in 4 years.
In addition, with a total budget of 52 billion VND, Hue is renovating Thai To Temple, where 9 lords of the Nguyen Dynasty are worshiped.
