The area surrounding the Imperial Palace ( Hue Citadel) has seen the emergence of many sturdy traditional houses.
According to observations by a Culture reporter , many new structures have been built in the traditional Vietnamese house style within the grounds of the Ministry of Interior historical site. These structures are built with solid reinforced concrete foundations, approximately 0.5 meters high, sturdy tiled roofs, and fitted with glass windows.
According to preliminary statistics, four traditional-style houses have been completed to date, with areas ranging from nearly 100m2 to approximately 180m2; this does not include the corridors and other landmark structures that are still under construction.
Reporters' investigations reveal that the aforementioned constructions were authorized by the Hue Imperial Citadel Relics Conservation Center to begin in mid-2025, along with landscaping work including the renovation and paving of the courtyard, the decoration of miniature landscapes, and the planting of trees in the grounds of the Ministry of Interior's historical site.
In contrast to this "novel" traditional house, there is a two-story building in the French architectural style, constructed about 120 years ago. This building is now in serious disrepair, with moss covering the walls, dampness and mold, and rusty steel beams exposed in many places on the ceiling...
One of the traditional houses has been completed with a raised foundation of about 0.5m and fitted with glass doors.
Historical records indicate that the Ministry of Interior was built during the reign of Emperor Minh Mạng (it was called Nội Đồ Gia during the reign of Emperor Gia Long). Initially located within the Forbidden City, it was later moved to its current location east of the Imperial Citadel. The Ministry of Interior comprises numerous buildings constructed on a site covering approximately 20,000 square meters. It served as a place for crafting and storing treasures and artifacts belonging to the emperor and the royal family.
After the end of the Nguyen dynasty, the Ministry of Interior's historical site was repurposed for various uses, including for a long period as the headquarters of the National School of Music , and later the Hue University of Arts. Through many historical changes, the Ministry of Interior's historical site has almost no original structures remaining, except for the gate with the four Chinese characters "Tuần binh vệ môn" (Guard Gate of the Patrol) and the Tối Linh Từ shrine.
The two-story French-style buildings were constructed in the early 1900s, and some additional structures were built by the Hue University of Arts to serve its training purposes. The Ministry of Interior building is located north of the Trieu Mieu relic site, next to the Co Ha garden, the Duyet Thi Duong theater, etc., and is frequently visited by domestic and international tourists. Some visitors to the Ministry of Interior relic site express surprise and wonder if the site is currently undergoing restoration or renovation.
In an interview with reporters, Mr. Hoang Viet Trung, Director of the Hue Imperial Citadel Relics Conservation Center, said that the unit is implementing a project to promote the value of the Imperial Palace relic, exploiting quality cultural services to create more night tourism products in the Hue heritage area.
This contributes to attracting and extending the length of stay of tourists in Hue, thus contributing to the development of the night-time economy. However, when we contacted the Hue Imperial Citadel Conservation Center to inquire further about how the construction of the new, sturdy traditional houses at the Imperial Palace site was approved by the relevant authorities, the leaders of the Hue Imperial Citadel Conservation Center were unable to provide any information.
The two-story French-style building, constructed in the early 1900s at the "front" of the Ministry of Interior building, is now in serious disrepair.
According to our research, since 2023, the People's Committee of Thua Thien Hue province (now Hue City) has approved the project "Developing services based on promoting the value of Hue Imperial Citadel relics until 2030," which includes a plan to seek new, potential, dedicated, and knowledgeable partners to attract investment in high-quality, suitable services in areas of the Hue Imperial Citadel such as the Tu Phuong Vo Su Pavilion, Tay Khuyet Dai, the Ministry of Interior, Truong Sanh Palace, and several other areas…
At the Ministry of Interior historical site, investment should be made in researching and designing a high-quality service complex, creating a centralized service point to organize services for tourists, including experiential activities and events combined with souvenir sales and food services.
This includes organizing experiential programs such as demonstrations, introductions, and interactive guided tours for visitors to experience the essence of traditional crafts of the Nguyen Dynasty and Vietnamese folk crafts; displaying and introducing handicraft products, royal specialties, and traditional Hue products…
It is known that in May 2025, the Hue Imperial Citadel Relics Conservation Center also announced a search for food service providers to operate at the Imperial Palace relic site. The announcement clearly stated the investment scale, including infrastructure renovation, landscaping, machinery, equipment, and interior decoration, to ensure the operation of food services, with an estimated cost of 15-20 billion VND. The current public concern is whether the construction and assembly of the traditional houses and corridors at the Imperial Palace relic site have been assessed and approved by relevant ministries and agencies in accordance with the law on cultural heritage.
According to a source, the cultural heritage management agency has not yet received any application for assessment of the construction and assembly of the traditional house system at the Phu Noi Vu historical site.
Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/di-tich-phu-noi-vu-o-hue-dang-duoc-phuc-dung-197201.html
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