Despite local authorities' efforts for the last five years, many nhavuon or garden houses of Hue are facing the ravages of time.
According to Tran Thanh, deputy head of the city's culture office, theThua Thien - Hue provincial administration in 2006 offered a four-yearproject to preserve garden houses.
As part of the project,research was conducted on more than 7,100 garden houses, including 800older houses of significant value that should be restored.
"We promoted a plan to restore 150 typical houses which are in dangerof becoming lopsided," he said. "However, only 52 among the houses nowhave good quality".
In 2009, the provincial People'sCommittee decided that each garden house owner would receive financialsupport of 100 million VND (5,000 USD) to restore the house.
Residents who invest in building garden house will receive 5 millionVND per house towards buying saplings or seeds for trees. They will alsobe granted five-year preferential loans.
In fact, manyhomeowners who cannot afford to restore their property from the ravagesof time or sell parts to people from other localities did not receiveany financial support to restore the houses as the local government hadpromised.
"We often open our houses to the public free ofcharge without support from local tourism firms," said Nguyen NgocTrinh, homeowner of Phu Mong-Kim Long tourist site located in Kim LongCommune.
Cultural researcher Nguyen Huu Thong, head of theVietnam Culture and Arts Institute's branch in Hue, said that thebusiness of preserving garden house is urgent.
"Authorities' new policies will prove to be a shot in the arm for preservation and revival efforts," he added.
A typical garden house in Hue has two main parts: nha ruong (housebuilt with many beams (ruong) and pillars (cot) ) and the surroundinggarden, designed according to geomancy (feng shui) stipulations andtheir owners' spiritual orientation.
Another very distinctive feature of nha ruong is that all beams and pillars are joined by mortise and tenons, not nails.
Roofed with brick tiles, the beams and pillars of “nha ruong” are madeof precious, solid wood such as lim (iron wood), gu (sindora) or thongxanh (teranthera pine). The entire house stands on big pillars placed ona round or square stone base.
Traditionally, a gardenhouse cannot be sold out of the family in order to maintain ancestrallinks. However, rocketing land values have encouraged some people tosell their land or dissemble their nha ruong.
If this trend continues, a unique feature of the central province will disappear into history and culture books. /.
According to Tran Thanh, deputy head of the city's culture office, theThua Thien - Hue provincial administration in 2006 offered a four-yearproject to preserve garden houses.
As part of the project,research was conducted on more than 7,100 garden houses, including 800older houses of significant value that should be restored.
"We promoted a plan to restore 150 typical houses which are in dangerof becoming lopsided," he said. "However, only 52 among the houses nowhave good quality".
In 2009, the provincial People'sCommittee decided that each garden house owner would receive financialsupport of 100 million VND (5,000 USD) to restore the house.
Residents who invest in building garden house will receive 5 millionVND per house towards buying saplings or seeds for trees. They will alsobe granted five-year preferential loans.
In fact, manyhomeowners who cannot afford to restore their property from the ravagesof time or sell parts to people from other localities did not receiveany financial support to restore the houses as the local government hadpromised.
"We often open our houses to the public free ofcharge without support from local tourism firms," said Nguyen NgocTrinh, homeowner of Phu Mong-Kim Long tourist site located in Kim LongCommune.
Cultural researcher Nguyen Huu Thong, head of theVietnam Culture and Arts Institute's branch in Hue, said that thebusiness of preserving garden house is urgent.
"Authorities' new policies will prove to be a shot in the arm for preservation and revival efforts," he added.
A typical garden house in Hue has two main parts: nha ruong (housebuilt with many beams (ruong) and pillars (cot) ) and the surroundinggarden, designed according to geomancy (feng shui) stipulations andtheir owners' spiritual orientation.
Another very distinctive feature of nha ruong is that all beams and pillars are joined by mortise and tenons, not nails.
Roofed with brick tiles, the beams and pillars of “nha ruong” are madeof precious, solid wood such as lim (iron wood), gu (sindora) or thongxanh (teranthera pine). The entire house stands on big pillars placed ona round or square stone base.
Traditionally, a gardenhouse cannot be sold out of the family in order to maintain ancestrallinks. However, rocketing land values have encouraged some people tosell their land or dissemble their nha ruong.
If this trend continues, a unique feature of the central province will disappear into history and culture books. /.
