Visitors compare the details in the ancient Thể Nhơn Môn gate with the current Cửa Ngăn gate.

The "New Hue Ancient Heritage Group" comprises seven members from various places (including Hue ), working in diverse fields such as architecture, photography, historical research, and traditional costume research. They all came together driven by a shared spirit: a deep love for Hue's cultural heritage and a constant effort to rediscover the essence of a bygone Hue through archival and digitized images.

True to its name, the exhibition space, "Hue: Strange and Ancient," has attracted a great deal of attention from those who love Hue's cultural heritage. This aligns with the spirit introduced by the members of Tan Do Thanh Hieu Co: "Although the space is small, we want to welcome everyone with the utmost enthusiasm from the entire group. The most valuable documents on the planet, and never-before-seen photographs, have all been displayed here."

“Hue, Strange and Ancient” introduces those interested in Hue's cultural heritage to very early – even the earliest – photographs of the Hue Imperial City, taken by the French before the Truong Tien Bridge was included in the construction plan. The exhibition period is estimated to be near the end of the Dong Khanh dynasty, 1885-1896. These valuable documentary photographs were collected primarily through auctions, then analyzed and digitized. These include images of The Nhan Mon Gate, clarifying why it was called the Barrier Gate; a panoramic view of the structures when they were intact in the Co Ha garden; a large-scale color photograph of the main interior of the Can Chanh Palace – considered one of the “most valuable photographs on the planet” for Hue at that time; a portrait of Tuy Ly Vuong - Mien Trinh (the eleventh son of Emperor Minh Mang); and a portrait of Prince Consort Nguyen Huu Tien (husband of Princess Ngoc Son). Or the photo shows the bustling atmosphere of the entire Mu Dang market center right on Trinh Cong Son street today…

A visitor, who had previously worked at the Hue Imperial Citadel Conservation Center before retiring, paused for a long time in front of two close-up and wide-angle photos of the Gate of Hue after viewing all the exhibited pictures. He exclaimed in surprise, "I've seen many archival photos before, but I've never seen one like this. The Gate of Hue in the past is so unique!"

Immediately after the exhibition, members of Tan Do Thanh Hieu Co dedicated a full day to directly transferring and handing over these valuable documentary photographs to their esteemed recipients. This included transferring digitized photographs of the emperors' feet on high-quality printing to the Hue Imperial Citadel Conservation Center for veneration at the The Mieu Temple. They also transferred four valuable documents related to the upcoming restoration plan, including a photograph of the Thoai Thanh Palace (the resting place of Emperor Gia Long's mother) when it was intact, and a group of structures in their original state within the Co Ha Garden (Imperial Citadel). Furthermore, they gifted the family of Hue cultural researcher Phan Thuan An a digitally detailed photograph of Prince Consort Nguyen Huu Tien (husband of Princess Ngoc Son), showing every detail of his attire.

Working together out of love for Hue's cultural heritage, the members of Tan Do Thanh Hieu Co hope that images of "Hue, both strange and ancient" will continue to be valuable resources for organizations and families in their journey to preserve and promote the values ​​of Hue's culture. And in one way or another, these precious images will be preserved and can "tell" more people in Hue about how beautiful Hue was in the past.

DONG VAN