Ancient communal house in Thanh Hoa on the verge of collapse; villagers use bamboo to prop it up.

The ancient Bai Son communal house, located in Bai Son village, Tong Son commune, Thanh Hoa province, was built during the Nguyen dynasty (19th century). Over the centuries, the communal house has seriously deteriorated; many of the wooden pillars and rafters inside have rotted and are in danger of collapsing at any moment.

- Image 1. — The ancient Bai Son communal house is located in Bai Son village, Tong Son commune, Thanh Hoa province.

To protect the monument, the local authorities and the people of Bai Son village used dozens of bamboo stakes to support and temporarily reinforce it, making the entire space of the communal house completely covered with bamboo stakes.

Observations reveal that many architectural elements are damaged and cracked; columns and beams are infested with termites and decay, rafters and purlins are rotten, and many joints in the rafters, beams, and crossbeams are broken; roof tiles are displaced and broken, causing leaks into the underlying structures.

- Photo 2. — The communal house has a J-shaped structure, with a main hall of 5 bays and two wings, 4 curved roofs, and an area of 210 m2.

Mr. Hoang Ngoc Toan, Party Secretary and Head of Bai Son village, said that the communal house is not only a common community space for the village but also a place of worship for the village's tutelary deity, reflecting the pride and long-standing cultural values of the local people.

Bai Son communal house is not only a place that preserves important milestones in the historical development of village culture, but also the place where the first armed self-defense fighting team of Ha Trung district held their meetings.

"Currently, the communal house is in serious disrepair. Officials and people of Bai Son village hope that Thanh Hoa province will pay attention, conduct a survey soon, and provide funding for restoration, preservation, and protection of the historical site, so that people have a safe place for community activities," Mr. Toan said.

According to Mr. Toan, due to the dilapidated condition of the temple and the bamboo supports taking up all the space, in recent years, the local authorities have not dared to allow people inside the temple during festivals and have had to organize them in the courtyard instead.

- Photo 6. — Due to deterioration, the main pillars in the temple are showing signs of shifting from their bases.

Speaking to the Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper, Mr. Pham Van Dinh, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Tong Son commune, said that the Bai Son village communal house is currently in a very serious state of disrepair. Restoring the communal house requires a very large sum of money. The commune is developing a plan and reporting it to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to submit to the Provincial People's Committee for consideration and approval of the restoration and preservation project of the historical site.