A part of the northern wall of the citadel was damaged by heavy rains in September 2017. The big stones remain far from the foot of the wall without any long-term solution implemented by concerned agencies (Photo: thanhnien.vn) Thanh Hoa (VNS/VNA) - The 600-year-oldcitadel in the central province of Thanh Hoa is facing seriouserosion caused by heavy rains.
While the citadel walls to the east, south andwest remain fairly intact, the northern wall, which runs around 880m long withan average height of 5m, has eroded in many places. The erosion riskstriggering a more serious collapse of the wall and the serious deformation ofthe heritage site.
According to experts, the northern wall isconstructed of stones placed onto one another without any adhesive materials.
At sites of erosion, big stones have slid dozensof metres from the base of the wall. Along the wall’s base, wild grass andtrees are growing, some sprouting from stone cracks and large broken stones.
The most serious erosion was formed in Septemberlast year due to a big storm. More than 50 big stones slid from the north wall,a length of 20m. Erosion also happened near the eastern and northern gates ofthe citadel.
In October 2017, the Ho Citadel HeritagePreservation Centre invited experts from the Ministry of Culture, Sports andTourism, the UNESCO office in Hanoi and local scientists to discuss solutions.
The provincial Department of Culture, Sports andTourism finally submitted a proposal to the provincial People’s Committee andconcerned agencies to fix the damage and restore the north wall, following themaster plan to preserve the citadel approved by the Prime Minister in 2016.However, nothing has been done so far.
Pham Duy Phuong, Director of the provincialDepartment of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that two solutions have beenproposed.
The department has developed feasible solutionsaccording to the Prime Minister’s master plan, in which various constructionswill be upgraded. The department is waiting for local authorities’ approval tocarry it out.
The department will implement a project toexcavate and upgrade the areas most seriously damaged by the heavy storm lastSeptember first, and then wait for further guidelines from higher-levelagencies.
The Ho Dynasty Citadel in Vinh Locdistrict was Vietnam’s capital under the Ho Dynasty (1398-1407). Thedimensions of the citadel, which was built in 1397, are 870m by 883m.
It is the only citadel in the country builtentirely of stone that has remained nearly intact throughout the nation’shistory.
According to experts, the structure is anoutstanding example of a new style of construction for a Southeast Asianimperial city. It was recognised as a World Cultural Heritage site by UNESCO in2011.-VNS/VNA
While the citadel walls to the east, south andwest remain fairly intact, the northern wall, which runs around 880m long withan average height of 5m, has eroded in many places. The erosion riskstriggering a more serious collapse of the wall and the serious deformation ofthe heritage site.
According to experts, the northern wall isconstructed of stones placed onto one another without any adhesive materials.
At sites of erosion, big stones have slid dozensof metres from the base of the wall. Along the wall’s base, wild grass andtrees are growing, some sprouting from stone cracks and large broken stones.
The most serious erosion was formed in Septemberlast year due to a big storm. More than 50 big stones slid from the north wall,a length of 20m. Erosion also happened near the eastern and northern gates ofthe citadel.
In October 2017, the Ho Citadel HeritagePreservation Centre invited experts from the Ministry of Culture, Sports andTourism, the UNESCO office in Hanoi and local scientists to discuss solutions.
The provincial Department of Culture, Sports andTourism finally submitted a proposal to the provincial People’s Committee andconcerned agencies to fix the damage and restore the north wall, following themaster plan to preserve the citadel approved by the Prime Minister in 2016.However, nothing has been done so far.
Pham Duy Phuong, Director of the provincialDepartment of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that two solutions have beenproposed.
The department has developed feasible solutionsaccording to the Prime Minister’s master plan, in which various constructionswill be upgraded. The department is waiting for local authorities’ approval tocarry it out.
The department will implement a project toexcavate and upgrade the areas most seriously damaged by the heavy storm lastSeptember first, and then wait for further guidelines from higher-levelagencies.
The Ho Dynasty Citadel in Vinh Locdistrict was Vietnam’s capital under the Ho Dynasty (1398-1407). Thedimensions of the citadel, which was built in 1397, are 870m by 883m.
It is the only citadel in the country builtentirely of stone that has remained nearly intact throughout the nation’shistory.
According to experts, the structure is anoutstanding example of a new style of construction for a Southeast Asianimperial city. It was recognised as a World Cultural Heritage site by UNESCO in2011.-VNS/VNA
VNA
