On the occasion of Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day, on the evening of November 23, at the Hue Imperial City; the People's Committee of Thua Thien Hue Province held a ceremony to receive the UNESCO Certificate of Documentary Heritage of the Asia-Pacific region for “The reliefs on nine bronze peaks in the Hue Royal Palace”; announcing the completion of the Project for the overall conservation and restoration of the Thai Hoa Palace…
Thua Thien Hue Provincial People's Committee receives the Certificate of Recognition of UNESCO Asia-Pacific Documentary Heritage for "The reliefs on the nine bronze peaks in the Hue Royal Palace"
Attending the ceremony were: Mr. Le Thanh Long, member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Prime Minister; Mr. Le Truong Luu, member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council, Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation; Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong, Deputy Secretary, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee and representatives of leaders of a number of relevant ministries, departments and branches...
On May 8, 2024, at the 10th Plenary Session of the Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Vietnam's "Reliefs on nine bronze peaks in the Hue Imperial Palace" were officially inscribed on the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Documentary Heritage List.
“This recognition brings the total number of documentary heritages in Vietnam to 10, including 3 world documentary heritages and 7 Asia-Pacific documentary heritages. The bronze castings on the Nine Dynastic Urns have preserved the values of exchange and interaction between the cultures of Vietnamese society and East Asian countries,” said Mr. Jonathan Wallage Baker, Chief Representative of UNESCO in Vietnam at the ceremony.
“The world’s documentary heritage is the heritage of all of us. Such heritages need to be preserved and conserved in their entirety and made accessible in perpetuity, properly recognized for their cultural practices and their practicality, and made available to all without hindrance,” Mr. Jonathan Wallage Baker shared.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Committee of Thua Thien Hue province, said that Thua Thien Hue is the locality with the largest number of world heritages in Vietnam. This is a clear demonstration of the richness and diversity of the cultural heritage system with global value in the ancient capital.
UNESCO's recognition of "The reliefs on the nine bronze peaks in the Hue Imperial Palace" as a World Documentary Heritage once again affirms the stature and historical value of the Nine Dynastic Urns in the treasure trove of human cultural heritage, while also giving Thua Thien Hue the position of being the only locality with 8 heritages recognized by UNESCO.
Thua Thien Hue Province commits to continue to synchronously and effectively implement the International Programs and Action Plans and the Government of Vietnam on the conservation and promotion of cultural heritage values; with specific solutions, both immediate and long-term, to create new vitality for the heritage; so that the heritage will last forever, increasingly spreading to serve the socio-economic development of the locality.
Nine Dynastic Urns placed in the Hue Imperial City
Also in the afternoon of the same day, the People's Committee of Thua Thien Hue Province announced the completion of the Project to preserve and restore the entire Thai Hoa Palace relic. Thai Hoa Palace is the most important architecture of the Hue Imperial Citadel. This is the place where the coronation ceremonies of 13 Nguyen Dynasty Emperors were held; where the most important ceremonies of the royal court were held. This palace was built in the spring of 1805 under the Gia Long dynasty. During the Minh Mang dynasty, the royal court ordered the restoration and reconstruction at a new location from 1832, and it was completed in 1833.
After hundreds of years of existence, Thai Hoa Palace has become a witness to the ups and downs of national history. Experiencing many historical events, under the impact of time, war, and harsh climate, the project has seriously degraded. In particular, the storms at the end of 2020 put the palace at risk of needing to be rescued.
On November 23, 2021, the groundbreaking ceremony for the project to preserve and restore the entire Thai Hoa Palace relic was carried out with a total investment of nearly 129 billion VND and after 3 years of construction, the project was completed 9 months ahead of schedule.