The Privy Council historical site will be transformed into a space for creativity and experimentation.

VHO - The Nguyen Dynasty's Privy Council relic site, located southeast of the Hue Imperial Citadel, has recently hosted numerous cultural and artistic activities and is expected to be developed into a creative space, contributing to the creation of a cultural and tourist destination in Hue.

An aerial view of the overall site of the Privy Council of the Nguyen Dynasty.

The Privy Council relic at 33 Tong Duy Tan Street, Phu Xuan Ward, Hue City, currently also serves as the headquarters of the Hue Imperial City Relics Conservation Center. By the end of 2025, the Center will move to its new premises and simultaneously develop the Privy Council relic into a space for creating heritage, culture, and art.

The Privy Council, along with the Cabinet, was formed during the reign of Emperor Minh Mạng of the Nguyễn Dynasty and was one of the two important administrative units. According to researcher Nguyễn Xuân Hoa, the Privy Council was where the most important ministers of the court gathered to discuss and decide on the most important national affairs with the emperor. Under the Nguyễn Dynasty, there was no prime minister below the emperor; the emperor had to directly manage affairs, and there were six ministries below him. The Privy Council was the intermediary unit between the emperor and the six ministries.

Initially, the Privy Council was located inside the Forbidden City and then moved to various other locations. In 1903, the Privy Council was rebuilt on the site of the former Giac Hoang Pagoda, a rather large-scale structure at the time. It later became commonly known as the Three Palaces. Mr. Hoang Viet Trung, Director of the Hue Imperial City Relics Conservation Center, stated that, according to the direction of Hue City, this area will become a space for creative cultural and artistic exchange combined with services. After the Center moved to its new location, the unit will be tasked with preserving and promoting the value of the Privy Council relic, and will therefore implement activities to transform it into a creative cultural space for Hue.

Students experience heritage education activities at the Privy Council historical site.

According to Mr. Hoang Viet Trung, the unit will coordinate with partners to organize cultural programs and activities, inviting artists and painters to perform; creating opportunities for students from music and art schools to perform, both to serve tourists and to mobilize social resources to "nurture" art in a sustainable way; especially creating an ecological model in which organizations, units, and individuals participate together.

“Combined with the space of the future Hue Imperial Antiquities Museum, the restored Nguyen Dynasty Imperial Academy and the Privy Council will form a unique cultural spatial axis, contributing to honoring and spreading Hue's heritage. We expect this space to be an attractive destination, making an important contribution to the development of the heritage city in the future,” Mr. Trung shared.

Researcher Nguyen Xuan Hoa also believes that orienting the establishment of a creative and experimental center related to heritage within the Privy Council is appropriate. "I think that transforming a key relic of the Nguyen Dynasty into a cultural institution integrated into social life will create new creative capacity and enhance the status of Hue's heritage," Mr. Nguyen Xuan Hoa stated.

To kick off the creative cultural space at the Privy Council, since the end of November, the Hue Imperial Citadel Relics Conservation Center has collaborated with Hue University of Arts and related units to organize activities such as an exhibition of documents and images on the theme "The Privy Council of the Nguyen Dynasty (1834-1945): A journey through space and the imprint of the court"; a heritage education program "Exploring the Privy Council and experiencing Hue's heritage types"; and an art exhibition "Hue Charm 3"...

According to the Hue Imperial City Relics Conservation Center, the creative cultural space at the Privy Council will initially be open to visitors free of charge.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/di-tich-co-mat-vien-se-thanh-khong-gian-sang-tao-the-nghiem-188567.html