Ancient citadel likely to become world heritage
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Vietnamese cultural authorities are pinning their hopes on the Ho dynasty’s citadel being recognized as a World Heritage site this year.
To local officials, the possibility of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognizing the citadel in a meeting in Bahrain this June is high.
Pham Sanh Chau, Head of the Foreign Ministry’s Cultural Diplomacy Department and General Secretary of the Vietnam National UNESCO Committee, said Vietnam could be optimistic as long as she was able to show the citadel’s cultural significance.
Those who have seen the citadel all agree that it is a cultural treasure.
Built by the short-lived and controversial Ho dynasty (1400-1407) in the central province of Thanh Hoa, the Ho citadel is the country’s oldest citadel with a relatively intact exterior structure and a well of valuable artifacts yet to be unearthed.
Louis Bezacier, an early 20th century French expert on Oriental cultures, said it was a unique example of how huge limestone blocks were shaped and joined to form an elegant and strong work of architecture.
The squarish structure that reaches up to 10m in height and 900m in length consists of huge square limestone blocks joined nicely without adhesives. A local legend has it that the citadel was completed in just 3 months.
In a two-day visit to the citadel with UNESCO heritage representatives from 21 countries in January, Katherine Muller Marin, the UNESCO representative in Vietnam, said she was impressed, especially with the citadel’s Nam Giao praying platform and King’s well.
Marin said provincial authorities would need to pledge to protect and restore the citadel as well as raise living standards for local residents if they wanted it to be recognized by the world.
