Historic buildings in two localities that functioned as commercial port towns
during the Nguyen dynasty are in a severely dilapidated condition.

Safe as houses? This unique two-storey wooden house in Gia Hoi Old Town is in a bad shape, but local authorities remain unsure how best to protect it. (Photo: VNS)

The Bao Vinh Town,
which hosted a busy port in 18th century, had 39 old buildings standing at the
end of the American War.

Meanwhile, Gia Hoi, a
bustling port town in early 19th century, had 140 old buildings featuring
traditional Vietnamese, Chinese as well as French colonial architecture.

These buildings have
been so badly damaged by the rampant urbanisation of last two decades, that only
15 of them still stand in Bao Vinh, while Gia Hoi has 55.

Residents complain
that they are caught in a bind. One the one hand, they cannot repair their
houses to make them safe or expand it to meet their needs because authorities
have banned such actions. On the other hand, the authorities themselves have
taken no action to preserve the old buildings.

“Many old houses in
Bao Vinh are in ruin and vulnerable to floods and hard weather,” said Nguyen Van
Bon, chairman of Huong Vinh Commune.

A conservation project
to protect the two towns was set up by Thua Thien Hue city Province in 2003, but only
three houses were repaired with funds from the French Parliament. In Gia Hoi,
one pagoda had its gate and entrance restored.

Experts have called on
authorities to act before it is too late.

“Architecture reflects
history, so there is a need to protect Bao Vinh and Gia Hoi. Authorities should
promptly come up with ways to deal with the conflict between conservation and
locals’ benefits,” said Nguyen Viet Tien, chairman of the province’s Planning
Association.

Nguyen Xuan Hoa,
former director of the province’s Culture Department, said it was not possible
to restore Bao Vinh as an old town because not many old house remained in it.

“But Gia Hoi has
unique architectural values with a national-heritage pagoda, a Hindu temple, the
house of a Japanese karate master, overseas Chinese club house, French colonial
buildings and palaces of royal family members. It would be interesting to
restore the old town,” he said.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News