Admire the architecture of Kinh Thien Palace decoded for the first time

The architecture of Kinh Thien Palace has been studied and recreated in 3D by scientists . For the first time, the public can admire the very different features of this historical work.

The architecture of Kinh Thien Palace has been decoded. Photo: Nhat Minh

From reputable archaeological sources, scientists from the Institute of Imperial Citadel Studies, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences have researched and explored to decode the architectural system of Kinh Thien Palace. From there, they reconstructed it in 3D models, displayed at the Hanoi Museum (Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi) to serve the people. Kinh Thien Palace was built in 1428, under the reign of King Le Thai To and completed under the reign of King Le Thanh Tong. Kinh Thien Palace was the central work of the Later Le Dynasty's royal palace in the capital city of Dong Kinh, now Hanoi. Here, King Le Thai To declared his enthronement and was later used as a place to hold important ceremonies. At the end of the 19th century, Kinh Thien Palace was demolished by the French colonialists, and in its place they built their artillery command headquarters. At that time, the house was called Con Rong or Long Tri house, because there were stone dragon basins in the front and back. In 1954, this place became the working place of the Ministry of National Defense when our people took over the capital. In 2004, a part of the central area of ​​Thang Long - Hanoi Citadel was handed over by the Ministry of National Defense to the Hanoi People's Committee for management. Research shows that Kinh Thien Palace is a palace built on a high foundation, in front of which there are 11 stone steps carved with dragons divided into 3 paths. The middle path is for the king, the two sides are paths for high-ranking officials.

In front of the building, there are 11 stone steps carved with dragons, divided into 3 paths. Photo: Nhat Minh

The architectural area is about 1,188m2 with 9 compartments (7 compartments and 2 wings), the depth of the palace is 6 compartments. The building has a total of 60 wooden pillars with 10 horizontal pillars and 6 vertical pillars.

The structure has a total of 60 wooden columns, 10 vertical and 6 horizontal. Photo: Nhat Minh

The architecture of Kinh Thien Palace is of the dou cong and dou diem type, with the roof covered with yellow glazed dragon tiles, decorated with dragon heads reaching up to the sky. The unique features of the architecture show the noble beauty and power of the dynasty. The two popular types of tiles during this period were tube tiles and curved tiles.

Dragon tiles are used to cover the roof of Kinh Thien Palace. Photo: Nhat Minh

Long-edge dragon tiles built in the architecture of Kinh Thien Palace. Photo: Nhat Minh

The discovery of the Cross-heart-shaped and Bird-head-shaped vases at the 18 Hoang Dieu relic site from 2002 to 2004 and 70 wooden structures at the East of Kinh Thien Palace during the excavations in 2017 and 2018 determined that the palace architecture of the early Le Dynasty belonged to the Dou Gong architecture type. This Dou Gong architecture has similarities with the ancient palace architecture in Beijing - China during the Ming Dynasty, this type has from 3 to 4 floors.

Parts of the fortification architecture system. Photo: Nhat Minh

The dou cong is a type of roof support structure using the technique of overlapping beams, located under the eaves and roof. This type of architecture has the effect of expanding the porch, has the ability to withstand force, and is also a highlight that creates the beauty of the building. This is considered the "key" to the process of decoding and restoring the form of Kinh Thien Palace.

The model recreating the architecture of Kinh Thien Palace has attracted the attention of a large number of people. Photo: Nhat Minh

Tran Thu Giang (24 years old, Hoa Binh) believes that these research results help the public understand and feel the uniqueness and ingenuity of ancient architecture. "I hope that more works will be decoded to understand the meaning and uniqueness of our ancestors' architecture" - Thu Giang said. Source: https://laodong.vn/du-lich/kham-pha/chiem-nguong-kien-truc-dien-kinh-thien-lan-dau-duoc-giai-ma-1275428.html