German restorers are using traditional Vietnamese methods to restore the facade of the Imperial Palace in Hue .

Restoration work is currently being carried out on Buu Thanh Gate and screens around King Tu Duc's tomb.

The Germany foreign ministry has commissioned experts from theGerman Conservation, Restoration and Education Project (GCREP) torenovate six murals dating from the Nguyen Dynasty in the lobby of AnDinh Palace.

The artwork is magnificent, but heavilydamaged. Before attempting to restore the murals, team leader AndreasTeufel sent samples back to Germany for chemical analysis.

The team are using traditional mortar made from molasses, lime andsand to restore the works. Teufel said the restored parts of the palacewill be indistinguishable from the original work.

"Previous restorers tried to preserve the original works but they didn'tknow how to do it properly and didn't have access to moderntechnology," she said.

"That was why relics at thesite have largely been left unrestored. The work they did was far fromperfect and bore little resemblance to the original. People in the pastused different painting techniques. The Vietnamese restorers used modernpigments and techniques," she said.

"I discovered that the original painting technique was similar to that used in Italy ."

The German restorers have used traditional pigments, which are appliedto the wet mortar. The colour will be fixed when the mortar dries.Bacteria will grow on the walls during the drying process, which helpsto make the artwork more durable.

The restoration work is in keeping with UNESCO's 1964 Charter.

According to Phan Thanh Hai, vice director of the Centre forRestoration of Hue Relics, the techniques used to restore the palacewill be applied to other sites./.