Locals miffed as Hue royal relic becomes café
Print 
Six months after being restored at a cost of US$450,000, “Lầu Tứ Phương Vô Sự” (House of Peace for All), a Hue relic, has been turned into a café, much to the chagrin of locals.
But some officials said leaving the relic unused would be a “waste.”
Built in 1923 as part of the Hue Royal Citadel during the reign of King Khai Dinh of the Nguyen Dynasty, the two-storey building is a unique architectural work that combines Eastern and Western styles.
It used to be a place for the royals to relax and get some fresh air. It was badly damaged in 1968 during the war.
In 2008 the Hue Ancient Capital Relics Preservation Center and the Vietnam History Museum and Sub-Institute for Construction Science in Central Vietnam restored it at a cost of more than 9.3 billion (US$450,000).
However, in mid-May Hue residents were taken aback to see the place filled with coffee tables, chairs, lights. On May 22 a café opened there.
The first floor with a reception desk, a refrigerator, and an altar
The second floor is used to drink tea Japanese style
On the first floor, cupboards containing ancient porcelain items were moved out to make space for 10 tables, a counter, an ice box, and an altar.
On the second floor is place for drinking tea Japanese style with low tables and cushions serving as seats. Children play noisily there.
There are many pennants on the wall with the words: “House of Peace for All -- Coffee – Drink.”
Nguyen T.N., who went to the cafe with her family yesterday, told newswire VietnamNet: “I have been told there is a café there and so I come out of curiosity. I do not understand why they [the cafe’s owner] do such a thing since this is an ancient relic left by our ancestors and has great spiritual significance.”
Nguyen Tang Quang, who lives near the cafe, said: “Not only me but also many other people here feel unhappy to see the building become a café. It is unacceptable to convert a historic relic into a business place.”
When VietnamNet called Phung Phu, the director of the Hue Ancient Capital Relics Preservation Center which manages the building, yesterday, he hung after saying curtly: “I’m busy now.”
One side of the building is used as a place to make drinks
Mai Xuan Minh, his deputy, said: “The café is aimed at promoting the image of the relic. There are many cultural works that remain unused after restoration. It is a waste. This café will serve as a stopover for travelers to Hue and will not lay emphasis on profit. Restoring a large building and then leaving it unused is very wasteful. In Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and in other places in the world, this is very common.”
The café will bring revenues of VND200 million ($9,670) a year for the Conservation Center, he said.
The center had invited bids to start the café and one of its own employees won it. The winner is required to educate guests about the relic’s cultural features, Minh added.
He assured that the café would do nothing detrimental to the relic.
Nguyen Van Thang, chief inspector of the province Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism told VietnamNet yesterday: “Our view is that anyone committing a wrongdoing must correct it. If the person who opened the café violates the relic, that person must be punished.”
House of Peace for All, Hue royal relic, in October 2010
