Vietnam’s ancient capital, Hue, was one of the more high-profile casualties of the war that tore the country apart in the 1960s and 1970s. Now the fight is on to save it from further ruin. Gemma Price reports. Photos by Tim White

When the Vietnam war ended in 1975 with north and south unified under the victorious communist regime, former feudal capital Hue was barely standing. The city was the scene of the bloodiest battle of the 1968 Tet offensive, when attacking North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces skirted allied South Vietnamese and American defences to capture the city. During the 25 days that the communist flag flew, 10,000 people lost their lives. Entire neighbourhoods were levelled by continuous US and Viet Cong bombing, and of 1,200 monuments built under the Nguyen dynasty, which ruled the country from 1802 until 1945, only 300 now remain.

The city had been surveyed and the cost of restoration estimated by Unesco as early as 1977, but Vietnam’s political climate made it impossible to take direct action. Although Unesco issued the Appeal for the Protection, Preservation and Restoration of Hue Cultural Heritage in 1981, it was not until 1990 that the Vietnamese government recognised the city’s unique significance and emergency strategies were implemented to save Hue before it crumbled completely.

The city was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1993, and to date around $5m in financial, technical and training support has been provided by the global community.

‘The first task was to maintain and support buildings that were about to collapse,’ says Nguyen Van Phuc of the Hue Monument Conservation Centre (HMCC), an organisation that was established in 1992. ‘Then the monuments were categorised into three grades of importance – most significant, such as palaces and temples; then significant buildings and pavilions; then gates and sub buildings.’

The tomb of emperor Thieu Tri, built in 1849, is still a work in progress, and shirtless bronzed workmen watch me with bemusement as I climb the broken, leaf-shrouded stone steps to peek behind the wooden fencing. The monument is largely intact – although the brickwork is in disrepair the stone administrative and military mandarins that guard the tomb and represent service and protection in the afterlife still stand, impassively lining the approach to the raised building and paying little attention to the gang of youths playing cards in the courtyard. A few boys are using the tomb as shelter from the unforgiving midday sun and clamber over the graffitied brickwork to catcall as I pace around the overgrown surroundings.

A lack of local education and awareness of Hue’s unique importance is one of the problems HMCC has to tackle. On top of city’s extreme climate, which sees summer temperatures regularly in excess of 30°C combined with heavy rainfall and flooding during the winter, the weathering of the monuments is accelerated by activities of locals.

Temples and tombs not yet managed for tourism by HMCC are still popular meeting spots, but more serious still is the fact that people actually live in and around the citadel. Following the government’s post-war attack on rural hardship, many people migrated from the countryside into Hue and set up home wherever they could, using whatever they could salvage from existing structures as building materials. The official figure for the citadel population is 60,000, but a realistic estimate places another 20,000 people in the area – some actually on top of the ramparts themselves. While evidently damaging for the monument, these impermanent dwellings pose other sanitation and health concerns.

During construction, a complex system was incorporated to provide water and drain waste from the citadel. Some 200 years later, the original system cannot cope with the huge increase in inhabitants and no longer functions efficiently. In the wettest months the citadel floods almost daily and a noxious mix of dirty water and raw effluent is washed into the streets.

‘The government is trying to relocate these “illegal” inhabitants step by step,’ says Phuc. ‘At present there is no housing of sufficient quality locally, and these people depend on the river for their livelihood – fishing or transporting sand for construction from the river banks. The citadel and riverside have been home for many since 1945 or 1975, and attempts to move them have failed. They have no way of supporting themselves in their new location so they move straight back again.’

While local authorities try to work out a sustainable solution, HMCC continues to oversee repair and restoration of the historic buildings as quickly as it can, but constantly encounters new obstacles. The events of the past century brought huge and destructive changes in a relatively short space of time, and much of the knowledge and practical skills from the time of the dynasty vanished. Much written documentation was lost or looted during the colonial period or was destroyed during the war with the US, and HMCC has appealed for any documents taken overseas to be returned to facilitate restoration.

Hue was inscribed on the World Heritage List under two criteria: for representing an outstanding example of the power of the vanished Vietnamese feudal empire at its apogee in the early 19th century, and as an outstanding example of an eastern feudal capital. Although it borrows some characteristics from its Chinese architectural contemporaries, the city is like nowhere else in the world. Each building was constructed to a unique scale using a Lo Ban rule – named after the Chinese father of carpentry – which required extreme skill to understand and utilise. Despite the discovery of some of these rules set into the roofs of buildings, which was traditional following completion, restorers remain unsure about the precise way in which they were used – especially as their demarcations changed periodically.

Architectural design throughout the complex was extremely sophisticated and Hue is recognised internationally for its landscape architecture, where principles of feng shui were applied to the natural environment and where buildings were designed and erected according to favourable location, orientation and specific local conditions.

‘The citadel was built facing south, to protect from cold north winds in the winter, and to provide fresh air in the summer,’ says Phan Tuan An, who is married to the granddaughter of one of the last royals, Princess Ngoc Son.

An has studied the role of feng shui at Hue in detail. ‘The Perfume River flows across the city’s front axis providing a water source. The two islets – Con Hen to the east and Con Da Nien to west – are the dragon and tiger which traditionally guard the entrance to any building. On the opposite bank, Nui Ngu Binh, which translates as Mount Royal Screen, provided the protective barrier to prevent evil spirits from entering the complex.’

An lives in a typical garden house, thousands of which were constructed along the same spiritual and environmental principles as the palaces to house the mandarins who served the royal court. Buildings in the city were low and wide, and joints rather than nails were used throughout the timber structure to allow the houses to move and withstand high winds. Roofs were tiled, typically with five to seven layers to make the structure heavy and stable, and to help keep the building cool in summer and warm in winter. One square metre weighed around 250kg, and several of the restored buildings have had every centimetre of their woodwork replaced.

Cutting edge technology has been used to work out the exact scale and features of the buildings and to aid their authentic reconstruction. The problem of replicating the decoration and craftsmanship of the original buildings was fairly easily solved by looking to local villages such as My Xuyen and Phong Duc. Here, carpentry and bronze casting are skills that have been handed down through generations and are still a main source of income. Although the crafts have altered slightly over time, the skills of the workmen were invaluable in replicating the original styles and techniques of the ancient court.

At Minh Mang temple, the old and new stand side by side. Some of the original wooden beams have been saved and others replaced, and although the red paint of the modern versions is brighter and glossier and the ornate gold detail brighter and less chipped than their older neighbours, the craftsmanship cannot be faulted.

It was not merely Hue’s buildings that were nearly lost forever. In 2003 Nha Nhac, Vietnamese court music, was inscribed on the World Heritage List for intangible culture. Under communist rule Nha Nhac was restricted to ceremonial events such as funerals, and was in danger of being forgotten entirely. Unesco approved a safeguarding project in 2005 to support the apprenticeship of young musicians in the music, the creation of its costumes and its traditional performance. This initiative occurred not a moment too soon – two of its key advisors, Lu Huu Thi and Tran Kich, both former masters and aged 94 and 86 respectively, are among the last with first-hand knowledge of the art.

The first students graduated in June this year, and Unesco’s budget of $154,900, complemented by $190,000 donated by the Vietnamese government, will ensure that the ancient arts of the court will be taught to many more.

Restoration funding comes from three main sectors – the Vietnamese government, which pledged between $1m and $2m for the project between 1996 and 2010; the international community, from organisations such as Unesco and American Express; and entrance fees to the monuments, which generate around VND40 billion ($250,000) per year. A day trip on the Perfume River costs VND50,000 ($4), although entry to each site must be paid independently – VND55,000 for foreigners, VND35,000 for locals. Around 40 per cent of this revenue goes towards restoration, with the remainder being spent largely on administration.

Despite some local rumours that funds were being misappropriated, Unesco’s ongoing support and continuing international cooperation suggests otherwise. Japan’s Waseda University is currently conducting surveys of the citadel water system with a view to completing a functional restoration, and HMCC is also preparing a proposal for perhaps its biggest project to date – the complete reconstruction of Can Chanh palace, scheduled to take place between 2010 and 2020 at an estimated cost of $2m.

By the time work has been completed, most of Hue’s ancient temples, pagodas and gateways will have received the structural and decorative restoration needed to recall past glories.

As Vietnam becomes an increasingly popular business and leisure destination, Unesco and HMCC are looking to manage the inevitable surge in accommodation and entertainment developments that will accompany the rising number of visitors. At present, Hue receives an average of 4,000 tourists a day and the citadel and the landscape and architecture of the surrounding area retains a palpable atmosphere of history and tradition. The challenge now is to ensure that Hue’s spirit, which has weathered and survived the clash of nations and cultures, will not be devoured by the march of mass tourism.

Getting there
Vietnam Airlines flies from Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi directly to Hue three times daily for around $65.www.vietnamairlines.com

Overland buses are available from any city from $2-20 depending on distance – just ask at any travel agent or hotel for more details.

Where to eat

Ancient Hue
Offers several lengthy food and wine menus with a selection of high-end international, Vietnamese and fusion dishes. 11/3 Pham Thi Lien Street Tel: (+84) 5459 0356 www.ancienthue.com.vn

An Dinh Vien
Vietnamese, Western & traditional royal dishes. 5A Pham Hong Thai (nr Phu Xuan Bridge) Tel: (+84) 5483 3019

Tropical Garden
Eat Vietnamese dishes to the sound of Hue folk songs. 27 Chu Van An Tel: (+84) 5484 7143

La Carambole
European and Vietnamese food, with Hue specialties. 19 Pham Ngu Lao Tel: (+85) 5481 0491

La Parfum
Quality international food at reasonable prices. La Parfum at La Résidence 5 Le Loi Tel: (+84) 5483 7475