Artifacts in building 23 - 25 Le Loi are still... waiting to be handed over to promote their value.

Formerly Hue Culture Museum

Building 23-25 Le Loi used to be the headquarters of the Thuan Hoa District Culture, Information and Sports Center - the unit managing artifacts and documents. However, this unit was officially merged and became a unit of Thuan Hoa Ward (new), operating under a 2-level local government. Before the merger, the Thuan Hoa District Culture, Information and Sports Center had submitted reports and proposals for transfer.

These days, many people visiting the space at 23-25 Le Loi (Hue Book and Culture Space) are surprised to see many artifacts arranged in a corner of the entrance. Among them, many Cham artifacts and many stone steles of historical value are arranged close together.

Mr. Nguyen Trong (Hue City) has visited this space many times and was curious when such valuable artifacts were placed carelessly, without any notes or safer preservation measures. “Those artifacts should have been respected, displayed in a worthy position or at least preserved in a better place. Hopefully, those in charge of management and expertise will have appropriate plans to preserve cultural and historical values.

According to our research, these artifacts are among more than 1,300 documents and artifacts that were once under the management of the Hue Culture Museum. In 2020, the Hue Culture Museum merged with the Hue City Radio Station and the Hue City Culture and Sports Center, becoming a part of the Hue City Culture, Information and Sports Center.

By early January 2025, Hue City was divided into two districts, Thuan Hoa and Phu Xuan, according to Resolution No. 1314/NQ-UBTVQH15, dated November 30, 2024, of the National Assembly Standing Committee. After the division, all artifacts of the Hue Museum of Culture were previously kept at 23-25 Le Loi, under the management of the Thuan Hoa District Culture, Information and Sports Center. After the mergers and divisions, the museum function is no longer the main function; facilities, equipment, operating costs as well as staff for museum work are no longer guaranteed.

Realizing the importance of this volume of documents and artifacts, the Center for Culture, Information and Sports of Thuan Hoa District (before the merger) proposed to transfer all documents and artifacts under its management to the Hue City Museum of History to promote their value in accordance with the functions, tasks and preservation capabilities of the museum and to avoid the dispersion of documents and artifacts. According to statistics, there are 1,398 documents and artifacts; in which, there are diverse materials such as: porcelain, metal, stone, wood, fabric, leather, plastic and paper.

Will review for handover

According to the leader of the Hue City History Museum, the unit has sent staff to carry out the inventory of documents and artifacts before bringing them to the museum for management and promotion of their value. However, the unit later intended to keep some artifacts, so it has not been able to implement it.

Ms. Nguyen Hong Hoa Tranh, Vice Chairman of Thuan Hoa Ward People's Committee, said that in mid-June 2025, the Center for Culture, Information and Sports of Thuan Hoa District (old) coordinated with the Hue City Museum of History to inventory, classify and make a transfer list. After inventory and classification, the Center sent a document to the People's Committee of Thuan Hoa District (at the time when the local government had not yet merged into 2 levels). On that basis, the People's Committee of Thuan Hoa District also sent a document requesting to review the lists, proposing which documents and artifacts could be left at the center to serve its functions and tasks.

The Center has reviewed, supplemented, and adjusted the list to suit the actual situation, and reported to the People's Committee of Thuan Hoa District for official comments before implementation. However, due to the large volume of work at the end of June 2025, the process of transferring and receiving documents and artifacts stored at the Thuan Hoa District Cultural, Information and Sports Center was temporarily interrupted.

“In the coming time, when the Thuan Hoa Ward Public Service Center is stable, the People's Committee of Thuan Hoa Ward will direct the Center to continue reviewing and building a list of suitable items to be retained to carry out the Center's current new tasks and a list to hand over to the museum,” Ms. Tranh shared.

Article and photos: NHAT MINH

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/hon-1000-tai-lieu-hien-vat-cho-phuong-an-bao-quan-phat-huy-gia-tri-156244.html