Ho Dynasty Citadel - from heritage to tourist highlight

Ho Dynasty Citadel (Vinh Loc district, Thanh Hoa province) is associated with a turbulent period of Vietnamese society, becoming a work of outstanding global value, both a center of power and a military fortress, demonstrating the skillful connection between architectural works and cultural and natural landscapes.

After nearly 15 years of being recognized by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage (2011-2025), Thanh Hoa province has gradually preserved and promoted the value of the heritage. Many excavations have been conducted here and valuable data have been found, contributing greatly to the restoration and embellishment of this "unique" stone citadel.

Promoting the value of the Ho Dynasty Citadel Heritage Site

Implementing the recommendations of UNESCO and the commitment of the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province, from 2011 to present, the Center for Conservation of the World Cultural Heritage of Ho Dynasty Citadel has coordinated with the Institute of Archaeology (Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences ) and the Vietnam Archaeological Association to promote underground archaeological activities of the heritage. With the goal of excavating on a total area of 56,000m2, including 25,000m2 of the Inner Citadel area, 12,000m2 of the citadel moat, 5,000m2 of the four citadel gates, 14,000m2 of the Royal Road... scientists and historians have discovered and found many important documents, helping to clarify the construction techniques of Ho Dynasty Citadel, thereby greatly helping to protect and restore the heritage that is deteriorating in many locations.

Research, excavation, and overall archaeology of the heritage gradually "unveil" the material cultural traces of the Ho Dynasty Citadel through the periods buried underground.

Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee is focusing resources and increasing investment to complete the excavation goals according to the set plan. In particular, the province pays special attention to 6 steps of the excavation process: Preparing the site, excavation equipment and materials; manual excavation; returning the excavation site; adjusting excavation results and creating records of artifacts; scientific seminars; systematizing excavation results and building scientific reports to divide investment phases to ensure the roadmap according to the approved plan.

Hundreds of stone bullets of various sizes are on display at the precious artifacts gallery of the Ho Dynasty Citadel World Heritage Conservation Center. (Photo: Hoa Mai/VNA)

To serve the management and conservation work, the Ho Dynasty Citadel Heritage Conservation Center cooperated with the Vietnam Institute of Archaeology and international experts to survey and develop a project to build a digital satellite map using the global information system (MAP GIS) for the heritage. In particular, the province focused on building a strategic archaeological map for the nominated and specially protected areas of the heritage including the Imperial Citadel, La Thanh, Nam Giao, Royal Road... The next stages focus on building maps to serve the heritage management work for the buffer zone.

Mr. Nguyen Ba Linh, Director of the Ho Dynasty Citadel Heritage Conservation Center, said that the application of digital technology brings many benefits to serve the work of archiving, managing, researching, preserving, promoting heritage values and promoting sustainable tourism development of Ho Dynasty Citadel. In addition, the thinking, awareness and professional level of the tour guide team are improved, bringing satisfaction to the public when visiting and experiencing tourism products at the heritage.

Bright spot in tourism development

In addition to continuing to invest in research, archaeology as well as heritage protection and preservation, promoting and developing the value of the Ho Dynasty Citadel heritage to domestic and foreign friends is a key task.

In order to exploit and promote the unique value of the heritage, attracting a large number of tourists to visit, in recent times, the Ho Dynasty Citadel Heritage Conservation Center has constantly "renewed" itself with rich tourism products, associated with the inherent resources with the unique characteristics of the land and people of Tay Do. This is also the way to help Ho Dynasty Citadel attract tourists throughout the four seasons.

In order to bring the heritage closer to the public, the Ho Dynasty Citadel Heritage Conservation Center has designed an outdoor exhibition space to introduce artifacts. Currently, the space is displaying and introducing a system of typical foundations and architectural materials discovered during the excavation process in the inner city area of the Ho Dynasty Citadel Heritage, serving scientific research and the needs of tourists.

The Ho Dynasty Citadel Heritage Conservation Center organizes many activities such as: Displaying models of cannons and reforms of the Ho Dynasty; Space for agricultural culture in the Tay Do region; "Space for displaying Ho Dynasty Citadel, history, legends and archaeology"; "Space for displaying stone for building the citadel" as a new check-in point at the South Gate; organizing folk games and introducing unique local cuisine, OCOP products... With the construction of 4 sightseeing routes: Ho Dynasty Citadel - Back to the Heritage Area; Ho Dynasty Citadel - Traditional Villages; Ho Dynasty Citadel - Spirituality of the Buffer Zone; Ho Dynasty Citadel - Monuments and scenic spots in the Buffer Zone, the adjacent relics in the buffer zone have been included in the sightseeing program at the heritage site, while helping visitors have a more comprehensive view of the land and people of the Tay Do - Ho Dynasty Citadel region.

Tourist Nguyen Kieu Lien (from Quang Ninh) said: "After 5 years of returning, I see that the Ho Dynasty Citadel has undergone many clear changes. Here, tourism products are more diverse, not just limited to visiting the stone citadel as before. Tourists can experience many diverse cultural spaces through products displaying artifacts and archaeological models associated with the cultural characteristics of the heritage site. My children are very excited about the new experiences here."

A unique feature that contributes to affirming the value of the Ho Dynasty Citadel is that the heritage is always closely connected to the lives of the people. The Ho Dynasty Citadel Heritage Conservation Center pays special attention to heritage education for students through experiential and learning programs associated with local history and culture. This is an effective approach to foster patriotism and awareness of heritage preservation in the younger generation.

The center organizes many training courses and tourism knowledge training for people in the buffer zone to raise awareness, skills in welcoming and civilizing tourists, thereby creating a resonance between heritage conservation and livelihood development for local communities.

Mr. Le Van Nam, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thanh Hoa province, said that the province always pays attention to investing resources in archaeological excavation and conservation, preventing degradation at the Ho Dynasty Citadel. The innovation and diversification of tourist routes associated with the characteristics of the Heritage contributes to fundamentally changing the awareness of tourists and local communities when visiting. Tourist routes are constantly expanded and enhanced to historical sites, scenic spots, and traditional villages in the heritage area.

The Ho Dynasty Citadel is a World Cultural Heritage located in Vinh Loc District, Thanh Hoa Province - also known as Tay Do to distinguish it from Dong Do (Thang Long-Ha Noi). This is a unique stone architectural work of Vietnam and the world, built in 1397, and was once considered the capital and socio-political cultural center of Dai Ngu under the Ho Dynasty. After nearly 15 years of being recognized by UNESCO as a heritage, the Ho Dynasty Citadel has been and is an attractive tourist destination for domestic and international visitors./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/thanh-nha-ho-tu-di-san-thanh-diem-sang-du-lich-post1038199.vnp