Launching Ceremony of the Detailed Planning for the Conservation, Restitution and Promotion of the Value of the Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long – Hà Nội Heritage Site

On the morning of 19 April 2016, at the Dragon Steps of the Kính Thiên Palace Foundation, the People’s Committee of Hà Nội organized the launching ceremony of the detailed planning for the conservation, restitution and promotion of the value of the Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long – Hà Nội Heritage Site. In attendance at the ceremony were leaders of the Ministry of Construction, Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO, People’s Committee of Hà Nội, representatives of different departments and sectors of the city as well as scientists.

The Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long – Hà Nội is a special national level and a world heritage site. Located at the heart of Hà Nội, the site boasts a history of more than 1300 years. It is a site of utmost importance among the old capital cities of Việt Nam.

The conservation, restitution and promotion of the historical, cultural, archaeological, architectural, technical and aesthetical values of the site is regarded by the authorities of Hà Nội as a central and important task. In 2007, the People’s Committee of Hanoi tasked  the Thăng Long – Hà Nội Heritage Conservation Centre with the preparation of an outline for the detailed planning of the conservation, restitution, and promotion of the value of the site to a scale of 1:500 and chose the Vietnam Institute for Urban and Rural Planning as the chief consultant and investor for the planning.

The Thăng Long – Hà Nội  Heritage Conservation Centre has worked with the consultant and related stakeholders to commence the planning work according to the procedures and regulations with the participation of both Vietnamese and foreign experts. During the preparation, the investor tried to match the planning with Decision 696/QĐ – TTg dated 18/6/2012 by the Prime Minister on the Planning of the Overall Ground of the 18 Hoàng Diệu Archaeological Site to ensure the uniformity of the whole area.

The scope of the planning covers an area of 18,353 ha, including the Hanoi Ancient Citadel and the 18 Hoàng Diệu Archaeological Site. Within this area, many archaeological relics have been revealed, and others remain untouched, lying deep under the ground. Many monuments and relics are of remarkable historical, cultural, revolutionary, architectural and artistic values, testifying to the uninterrupted history of Thăng Long – Hà Nội as a seat of power.

The entire planning is guided by an overall orientation to ensure the interconnectivity of the surrounding relics and landscape and harmony with the nature of the area where the site is located. The planning also takes into account future exhibition of the artifacts and archaeological areas to make it effective. Another requirement is the connection in terms of technical infrastructure with the Ba Đình Political Centre and the vicinity.

The approved planning is made up of three deliverables: a detailed planning of the conservation, restitution and promotion of the value of the Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long; a project for the conservation, promotion of the value of the heritage site; a set of regulations governing the investment in the construction and value promotion of the heritage site.

The detailed planning also spells clearly the functions of the four componential areas.

• The area between the Flag Tower (Kỳ Đài) and the South Gate (Đoan Môn): this space is to be used for cultural events, installation design, permanent greenery and mobile display of bonsai works according to detailed design that has been approved.
• The area between South Gate  (Đoan Môn) and Ladies’ Pavilion (Hậu Lâu): in this area, the conservation and restitution is intended for the space surrounding the relics and monuments, restoration of the main axis that connects relics between Đoan Môn and the Dragon Steps of the Kính Thiên Palace Foundation – Building D67 and Ladies’ Pavilion.
• The area between Ladies’ Pavilion (Hậu Lâu) and North Gate (Bắc Môn): this space is used for vegetation and greenery, archaeological storage and exhibition area; construction of a museum for storage and exhibition of the documents and artifacts.
• The 18 Hoàng Diệu Archaeological Site: This area  is reserved for insitu exhibition of archaeological pits A, B and D4- D6, conservation of authentic archaeological relics and vestiges of buildings that have been revealed with the appropriate humidity, temperature according to conservation standards; display of models and multimodal presentations.

The approval of the Detailed Planning of the Conservation, Restitution and Promotion of the Value of the Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long provides important legal basis for the implementation of the master plan, investment projects  for effective conservation, restitution and promotion of the value of the heritage site towards the transformation of the whole site into a “Historical and Cultural Park” of the capital city of Hà Nội.

Kim Yến
Thăng Long – Hà Nội Heritage Conservation Centre