Thua Thien-Hue: Efforts to preserve the Complex of Hue Monuments

Existing for 143 years, the Nguyen Dynasty left on Hue a huge amount of heritage including a system of citadels, mausoleums, temples with many unique types of wooden architecture of historical and cultural value.

The Imperial Citadel (Hue Imperial City) is always the main attraction for tourists whenever they set foot in the ancient capital. (Photo: Hoang Hung/VNA)

In recent times, Thua Thien-Hue province has achieved remarkable achievements in the conservation of Hue's heritage associated with the process of exploiting, promoting and creating conditions for local socio -economic development. However, due to the impact of recent prolonged storms and floods, many relic sites in the Hue Monuments Complex are at risk of damage and degradation. The Hue Monuments Complex has 29 relic sites scattered across Hue city, Huong Tra town, Huong Thuy town and Phu Vang district (Thua Thien-Hue province) with nearly 500 construction items mainly made of wood. In 1993, the Hue Monuments Complex was recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage. In order to preserve, conserve and promote the value of heritage, recently, with the support of UNESCO, international organizations, agencies at the Central level and Thua Thien-Hue province and local people, the heritage has passed the emergency rescue phase to move to the stage of stability and sustainable development. After the recent historic storms and floods, although it has been carefully protected, with the heavy devastation of natural disasters, many relic sites in the Complex of Hue Monuments have been seriously affected. Many relic sites were flooded and deeply inundated such as Nghinh Luong Dinh relic site, An Dinh Palace, and Tang Tho Tower... The gates to the Hue Royal Palace were flooded up to one meter deep. In addition, many other relic sites along the Perfume River were also flooded, causing severe flooding of roads and buffer zones such as Gia Long Tomb, Thieu Tri Tomb... Being submerged in water for a long time has affected the lifespan of the structures. In addition, the rainy season lasts a long time, the average annual rainfall is high, especially heavy rains lasting for many days also cause the tile roof to leak, accumulate water, increasing the roof load, wooden structures are also water-permeable, rotten, termite-eaten, leading to a higher risk of collapse.

Wall paintings of An Dinh Palace after being restored in a project funded by the Federal Republic of Germany. (Photo: Quoc Viet/VNA)

Mr. Le Cong Son, Chief of Office of Hue Monuments Conservation Center, said that most of the structures in the Hue Monuments Complex are made of wood and are quite old. During the rainy and stormy season, the center has a proactive plan to prevent and combat natural disasters and protect the relic sites. The center conducts surveys and organizes bracing and reinforcement of structures that show signs of deterioration. The center proactively trims and braces trees that are at risk of falling into the structures. In the long term, the center also strengthens the resilience of the tree system by technical methods, mistletoe treatment, etc.; at the same time, implementing the "4 on-site" motto, best preserving assets, documents, and agency equipment during the rainy and stormy season. The center is always ready to implement the motto "clean up as the water recedes" to limit damage to the structures as well as restore a clean and beautiful environment to the relics. In particular, during storms and floods, the center always assigns forces to be on duty day and night and prepares mechanical vehicles and machinery to be ready to respond when incidents occur. The center also regularly carries out termite treatment measures for constructions. Currently, there are 11 projects for restoration and conservation of relics with many different items being implemented at relic sites. Upon receiving notice of heavy rain, the Hue Monuments Conservation Center and construction units have implemented cover measures and have plans to protect the relics under restoration as well as the relic sites to minimize damage. Mr. Nguyen Hoang Tuan, Director of the Central Institute of Construction Science and Technology (Institute of Construction Science and Technology under the Ministry of Construction ), said that when constructing works at relic sites, the unit pays special attention to the safety of heritage, works and people at the works. The unit established storm and flood prevention teams at construction sites to prepare plans and anticipate hazards to heritage in order to propose response solutions. For wooden architectural works in the Hue Monuments Complex with very weak mortise and tenon joints, during construction, the unit applied technical measures to increase the construction's resistance to storms and rain; at the same time, braced and covered to avoid collapse of monuments, ensuring safety for heritage as well as people. Existing for 143 years, the Nguyen Dynasty left on the land of Hue a huge amount of heritage including a system of citadels, mausoleums, temples with many types of unique wooden architecture in terms of both historical and cultural values. The work of preserving, conserving and promoting the value of Hue heritage also faces many difficulties and challenges such as the large number of monuments that need to be preserved, repaired and restored; Extreme weather events... require more fundamental measures to protect relics in the current period, especially effectively mobilizing the cooperation and contribution of the entire community to the work of preserving and promoting heritage./.

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/thua-thien-hue-no-luc-bao-ton-quan-the-di-tich-co-do-hue-post678310.vnp