The ancient beauty of the Ho Dynasty capital, over 600 years old.

628 years ago, Ho Quy Ly, then a high-ranking official in the Tran Dynasty, directly supervised the construction of Tay Do Citadel (Ho Dynasty Citadel). In just about three months, a magnificent structure was built, highlighted by four walls made of massive stone blocks weighing tons, standing tall to this day, becoming a unique stone citadel in Vietnam and a World Heritage site.

Ho Citadel (also known as Tay Do Citadel) is a World Heritage site (recognized as a World Heritage site in 2011), a unique stone capital in Vietnam. The citadel was built in the spring of 1397, over a period of three months.

In 1397, Ho Quy Ly, then a high-ranking official in the Tran dynasty, under the orders of the Tran king, directly supervised the construction of a stone citadel called Tay Do Citadel (in present-day Vinh Loc commune, Thanh Hoa province) to distinguish it from Dong Do (Thang Long - Hanoi ). Upon ascending to the throne, Ho Quy Ly chose Tay Do Citadel as the capital.

PHOTO: NGO NHUNG

The Ho Dynasty citadel was built in a rectangular shape, with all four sides enclosed by stone walls using approximately 20,000 cubic meters of stone; the inner walls, facing the stone face, were constructed of earth using about 100,000 cubic meters of soil. All walls were over 6 meters high, with a 4-meter-wide walkway on top.

PHOTO: NGO NHUNG

The four sides—east, west, south, and north—have four gates called the Front, Rear, Left, and Right gates. Of these, the front gate (south) is the most intact. All the gates are built with arched vaults, in a U-shape, and made of dark green stone polished into grapefruit-segment shapes.

PHOTO: NGO NHUNG

The southern gate of Ho Dynasty Citadel remains the most intact. From this gate, a paved road runs along the north-south axis of the citadel, extending to the foot of Don Son Mountain (Dun Mountain), where the Nam Giao sacrificial altar of the Ho Dynasty was erected.

PHOTO: NGO NHUNG

The city walls were built with large stones, many weighing over 2 tons, primarily measuring 2 x 1 m x 0.7 m. Today, locals, tourists, and researchers who witness the structure firsthand are amazed by the skill of construction using massive stone blocks. They wonder how such large, heavy stones, weighing tons, could have been used to build such a stone fortress 628 years ago, in just about 3 months, without modern transportation equipment.

PHOTO: NGO NHUNG

A 14th-15th century clay dragon head was found at Ho Dynasty Citadel.

PHOTO: NGO NHUNG

The headless stone dragon inside Ho Dynasty Citadel was discovered by locals in 1938, and to this day, no one has been able to definitively determine why the dragon's head was severed.

PHOTO: NGO NHUNG

Many artifacts discovered through excavations at Ho Dynasty Citadel are gradually shedding light on the construction techniques of the Ho Dynasty capital.

PHOTO: NGO NHUNG

For generations, local people have continued to practice agriculture inside the Ho Dynasty Citadel.

PHOTO: NGO NHUNG

The Ho Dynasty Citadel has become a tourist attraction in Thanh Hoa province. The province has also approved a project to preserve the heritage and promote its tourism value with a total budget of over 700 billion VND. The project is currently in phase 1, with many items and structures to be restored and invested in.

PHOTO: PHUC NGU

The beauty of Ho Dynasty Citadel

PHOTO: NGO NHUNG

A display model of a cannon - a weapon from the Ho Dynasty.

PHOTO: NGO NHUNG

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ve-dep-co-kinh-cua-kinh-do-nha-ho-hon-600-nam-tuoi-185251124110725324.htm