Director of UNESCO World Heritage Center visits Hue relics

HNN.VN - On May 22, during his working trip to Vietnam, Mr. Lazare Eloundou Assomo, Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Center, visited Hue relic sites such as the Imperial Citadel, the Museum of Royal Antiquities and An Dinh Palace to conduct a field survey and learn about the management, conservation and promotion of World Cultural Heritage values in the locality.

Director of UNESCO World Heritage Center visits Ngu Phung Tower

Accompanying the delegation were Ms. Le Thi Hong Van, Director General, Secretary General of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO, Ms. Pham Thi Thanh Huong, Head of the Cultural Department of the UNESCO Hanoi Office, along with members of the Secretariat and representatives of the leaders of departments and branches of Hue city.

At the destinations, Mr. Lazare was introduced to the history of formation, the process of conservation, restoration and promotion of the value of relics such as the Imperial Palace, Thai Hoa Palace, Kien Trung Palace, etc. Mr. Hoang Viet Trung, Director of the Hue Monuments Conservation Center, shared about the work of preserving Hue heritage in recent times, from architectural restoration, preservation of intangible culture, to application of technology and digital transformation.

“Conservation not only helps preserve heritage for the future, but also contributes to socio-economic development, urban beautification, increasing tourism revenue and creating livelihoods for local communities,” Mr. Trung emphasized. Since 1982, nearly 200 works and items in the Hue Monuments Complex have been restored, with a total cost of more than VND2,000 billion. Hue has also received more than USD10.5 million in technical and financial support from 15 governments, more than 50 non-governmental organizations and many international partners through the UNESCO cooperation channel.

Mr. Lazare Eloundou Assomo listens to an introduction about the process and techniques of restoring the original mural system at An Dinh Palace.

At An Dinh Palace, a unique architectural work bearing the mark of the East-West cultural exchange, Ms. Andrea Teufel - representative of the German Cultural Heritage Conservation Association introduced the Interior Conservation Project, the current status of An Dinh Palace conservation, especially the implementation process and results achieved by the Khai Tuong Lau Roof Restoration Project sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and the French Government through UNESCO, and the significance of the project for the preservation and promotion of the architectural and artistic values of the relic.

Following that success, the Hue Monuments Conservation Center is implementing Phase 2 of the mural conservation project on the 3rd floor of Khai Tuong Lau, with a budget of more than 852 million VND sponsored by the French Government through UNESCO.

On this occasion, Mr. Hoang Viet Trung expressed his hope that UNESCO would continue to accompany him, especially in supporting the Center in preparing a dossier for the project to restore the An Dinh Palace in its entirety, requesting the French Ministry of Culture and UNESCO to consider approving funding. The project will contribute to improving the efficiency of exploitation for tourists, the community, research and education activities, and at the same time add highlights to cultural and artistic events in the Hue Festival and international exchange programs, contributing to positioning Hue as a center of unique cultural heritage in the region.

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/thong-tin-van-hoa/giam-doc-trung-tam-di-san-the-gioi-thuoc-unesco-tham-di-tich-hue-153858.html