Hanoi: People report violations in the restoration of Huu Bang communal house

The project to renovate and embellish Huu Bang communal house, Tay Phuong commune ( Hanoi city) started in July 2023, with a total investment of 43.6 billion VND. Up to now, the main house, the main hall, the right hall, the garden support system and some auxiliary items have been basically completed.

However, recently, many elderly people in Tay Phuong commune have continuously sent petitions to Vietnam News Agency and relevant authorities to report violations in the process of renovating Huu Bang communal house.

People reflect signs of violations

Huu Bang Communal House was built in the 17th century (16th year of Chinh Hoa - 1689) and was recognized as a national historical and cultural relic in 1989. The communal house still preserves ancient artifacts: bronze, ceramic, wooden objects with typical artistic styles of the 17th and 19th centuries. In particular, the communal house still preserves 27 royal decrees of the kings' dynasties and 5 gilded lacquer shelves, artistic sculptures of the 19th century such as: Bat xa mau, den canh tay of the Nguyen Dynasty. Notably, the 4 corners of the communal house are high, in the middle of the communal house roof are two dragons facing the moon, this is a spiritual place that is stable and solemn with time and years, witnessing the ups and downs of history changing over the years.

In 2023, the project to renovate and embellish Huu Bang communal house will be implemented. The design consultant is the Cultural and Thoi Dai Construction Investment Joint Stock Company; the contractor is Trang An Construction and Trading Joint Stock Company; and the Vietnam Cultural Heritage Construction and Preservation Limited Company is the supervising consultant.

During the project implementation, a number of opinions and petitions were raised by the people about signs of violations during the renovation process. Specifically, the people said that the construction unit replaced some old structures with new ones, especially the mascots and animals on the communal house roof; the communal house foundation and yard were lowered compared to before the renovation; the communal house sidewalk was narrowed...

Mr. Nguyen Van Phu, a local elder and also the petitioner, expressed concern about the renovation affecting the original value of the nearly 400-year-old relic and hoped that the authorities would clarify and restore the original ancient look to the communal house.

In response to the people's feedback and recommendations, Mr. Nguyen Van Phan, Director of the Tay Phuong Commune Investment and Infrastructure Project Management Board, said: The project to restore and embellish Huu Bang communal house was agreed upon by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in Document 4514/BVHTTDL-DSVH dated November 14, 2022, and the Department of Heritage appraised the construction drawing design in Document No. 317/DSVH-DT dated April 14, 2023. During the restoration process, Trang An Construction and Trading Joint Stock Company carried out the work in accordance with the approved design documents. Some original elements of the communal house were still retained, such as the system of columns, beams, rafters, head beams, etc., only restoration work was carried out such as connecting the column bases, locking cracks, cleaning and re-installing, etc.

Some contents require using new materials such as plastering the roof edge, tiles, paint, roof tiles... because when demolished, the old structure will be broken and cannot be reused.

Quickly resolve people's petitions and questions

Mr. Nguyen Van Phan, Director of Tay Phuong Commune Investment-Infrastructure Project Management Board, also stated that during the construction process, based on the design documents, reports, and proposals of the construction unit and the supervisory unit, the Monument Assessment Council decided to implement the restoration according to the approved design documents. The investor requested the contractor to preserve and store the specimens in the warehouse, so that later there would be a plan to hand them over to the locality for storage and display at the relic. However, after the specimens were restored, assembled, and restored, some elderly people in the village expressed their opinions.

On March 27, 2025, the investor held a meeting with representatives of the Hanoi Monuments and Landscapes Management Board, the Department of Culture, Science and Information, the Construction Investment Project Management Board of Thach That district (formerly); Quang Trung Commune People's Committee (before the merger, now Tay Phuong commune), Huu Bang communal house festival committee; Community supervision board, Mr. Nguyen Dang Tai (representative of the village elders).

At the meeting, the parties checked each animal pattern and agreed to install the animal patterns with artistic and aesthetic value that could be restored and installed on the communal house roof...

However, at the meeting, Mr. Phan Lac Quy, representing the elders, submitted a petition and proposed that it is necessary to meet with the elders of the communal house to discuss and reach a consensus on the plan to choose the patterns and animals that will be installed on the roof of the communal house.

On May 30, 2025, the People's Committee of Thach That district (old) held a working conference on some reflections from the people in the village on the restoration and embellishment of Huu Bang communal house, Quang Trung commune as above.

The meeting participants re-examined the animal patterns and agreed to restore the animal models with ceramic bones, aesthetic value and restoration ability; replace the damaged animal models according to the old model, then re-accept and agree to re-install them in their original positions (meeting minutes dated May 30, 2025).

But up to now, the restored animals and mascots have been invited to relevant parties, professional agencies, and people for acceptance and agreement, but have not received any comments from local people, especially some people who have made recommendations on this content (without answering whether the installation was completed or not, whether the restoration met the initial wishes and aspirations), leading to a prolongation of the content of the recommendation in the petition.

The survey team worked at the Huu Bang communal house relic to clarify questions and recommendations from local people. (Photo: Vu Quang/VNA)

On September 5, 2025, the People's Committee of Tay Phuong commune issued invitation letter No. 70/GM-UBND inviting relevant parties to come and resolve people's questions and recommendations, but the conference has not been organized yet.

On September 24, 2025, the Tay Phuong Commune Investment-Infrastructure Project Management Board held a conference inviting all members, but the conference did not achieve results because the households did not agree.

Currently, the investor has directed the construction unit, the consulting and supervision unit, the design unit and the highly skilled artisans to carry out the restoration of the statues under the supervision of the village elders, the local community and agreed on the acceptance before installation...

Mr. Can Van Huong, Chairman of Tay Phuong Commune People's Committee, said that all steps and procedures for investing in the Project were carried out by the old Thach That district. In the past, due to the new operation of the two-level local government, the commune has not closely followed up and thoroughly resolved the matter. However, the local government always attaches importance to preserving cultural heritage in parallel with socio-economic development.

Regarding the incident, the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports organized a conference to survey the relic of Huu Bang communal house to clarify the contents reflected in the petition, and answer questions and recommendations from the people about the restoration and embellishment of Hung Bang communal house.

Currently, the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports is synthesizing opinions and reporting to the City People's Committee to direct the definitive resolution of remaining issues.

We hope that the authorities and relevant units will soon have solutions to remove the above obstacles, especially considering and thoroughly resolving the recommendations and questions of the people; thereby, contributing to speeding up the project completion progress, towards the common goal - protecting and sustainably promoting the value of Huu Bang communal house relic./.

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/ha-noi-nguoi-dan-phan-anh-sai-pham-khi-tu-bo-ton-tao-dinh-huu-bang-post1073793.vnp