Viet Nam News
VUNG TAU — Many historic sites in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province need to be restored to prevent them from falling into disrepair.
Ho Van Loi, director of the province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that 19 national relics were in danger of further deterioration and should be restored.
"We are working with cultural researchers and historians to devise a restoration plan,” he said.
Local authorities will also support the relics’ managing board to manage and preserve ancient objects.
In Vung Tau, five historic relics, such as Bach Dinh (White Palace) and Thich Ca Phat Dai Pagoda (Theravada Buddhist), are often open to the public free of charge and need to be restored.
Bach Dinh, one of the city’s most popular destinations, was built as a retreat for French Governor General Paul Doumer in 1898. It is located on the site of a Nguyen Dynasty fortress and has beautiful views along the coast.
It was a penitentiary during the reign of King Thanh Thai between 1906 and 1917. The palace displays many objects in porcelain and wood.
“We cannot afford by ourselves to restore the palace,” said Nguyen Huy Hoang, a tour guide and interpreter working at the palace. "We need more support from local authorities in preservation.”
Hoang said that Bach Dinh attracts more than 200 foreign and local visitors every day. On holidays, the number triples.
Thich Ca Phat Dai Pagoda is located on five hectares of land in the northwest of Lon (Large) Mountain and was built in 1961.
It includes a 10.2 metre-statue of Gautama Buddha sitting on a lotus. The pagoda attracts thousands of tourists from home and abroad every year.
The Department recently submitted a proposal on establishing a relic managing board to the province’s People’s Committee.
“Restoration methods will be issued this year,” said Loi. — VNS