Panorama of Quach Thi Trang roundabout in front of Ben Thanh market, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City (photo taken on July 12, 7). The city is planning to put the statue of Mr. Tran Nguyen Han back in its original place - Photo: NGUYEN CONG THANH
The People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City has just issued a written approval for the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City to restore the statue of King Le Loi to its original state and hand it over to District 6 for display according to the district's proposed location; Restore the statue of Tran Nguyen Han to its original state and transfer it to the management board of the National Historical and Cultural Park for preservation and storage.
At the same time, casting molds create negative copies of the statue of Mr. Tran Nguyen Han to serve the casting of new statues when directed by the City People's Committee.
The City People's Committee assigned the People's Committee of District 6 to receive the statue of King Le Loi after restoration and preside over coordination with units to place the statue and construct the statue's pedestal in accordance with regulations, ensuring harmony and compatibility with the architectural space. Regional architecture and landscape at appropriate locations in the district.
The city also assigned the management committee of the National History and Culture Park to receive the statue of Tran Nguyen Han and preserve and store it to ensure historical, solemn and scientific elements.
Previously, the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City reported to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee on the quality inspection of the statue of King Le Loi and the statue of Tran Nguyen Han.
Overall, the statue of King Le Loi is intact. The outer surface shows slight signs of weathering. The surface layer of the statue is cracked locally, some places reveal rusty steel reinforcement and many small cracks appear on the surface of the statue. Small cracks (crow's feet) on the entire statue…
In addition to the local damage locations as above, the overall statue has a solid concrete layer. Therefore, according to the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City, the statue of King Le Loi has a solid structure and is completely eligible for re-establishment.
With the statue of Tran Nguyen Han, overall the statue is no longer intact. The outer surface shows slight signs of weathering, the surface layer of the statue is locally cracked.
Some locations revealed rusty steel reinforcement, and many small cracks appeared on the statue's surface. The right arm supporting the pigeon was broken, the sword and arm showed signs of fracture.
At the position of the horse's leg, the iron core was exposed... Due to the hollow structure of the statue, after a long period of exposure to the sun and rain outdoors, the steel inside the statue was eroded by rainwater, causing rust.
Therefore, handling damage to statues is very complicated and costly. In case the statue is restored or relocated and placed on a high pedestal, the impact of strong winds will not ensure safety.
Tran Nguyen Han monument before being moved - Photo: NGUYEN CONG THANH
“The monument was built before 1965 with a reinforced concrete structure, and after a long time of being placed outdoors, there were signs of architectural deterioration.
The load-bearing structure and steel reinforcement inside the entire statue are rusted, many parts of the statue are in a dangerous state," the report of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City stated.
Therefore, the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City proposed to restore the statue of Tran Nguyen Han and display it for a long time.
At the same time, the department will cast molds to create replicas to serve as a new statue of Tran Nguyen Han to replace the existing monument with a statue with a more durable structure (bronze casting, stone carving...). This is done with the opinion of the competent authority.
Two statues are preserved at Phu Lam park
Since 2013, the statue of King Le Loi was moved from Cay Go roundabout to Phu Lam park to hand over the construction site for the overpass at the roundabout.
Since December 12, the statue of Mr. Tran Nguyen Han in the Ben Thanh market roundabout area (District 2014) was also moved to Phu Lam park to implement metro project No. 1.
After metro No. 1 returned the site, the city is also implementing a project to renovate the landscape in front of Ben Thanh market and renovate Ben Thanh market. The city has a plan to move the statue of Tran Nguyen Han and the statue of Quach Thi Trang to their old positions.
