Hanoi to restore ancient ruins

VIETNAM plans to restore the ruins of an ancient imperial city in central Hanoi dating back to the seventh century with help from Japan and the UN cultural organisation, heritage officials say.

Work is expected to start next year to preserve the old citadel ahead of the capital’s 1,000th birthday in 2010 and would strengthen Hanoi’s chances of having its historic cultural heart declared a World Heritage site in future.

The remains of the ancient citadel and relics from five feudal dynasties were first discovered in 2002 during excavation work to build a new national assembly in the centre of the capital, putting construction on hold.

Archeologists discovered millions of priceless artefacts from the city once known as Thang Long (Ascending Dragon), including terracotta figures of dragons and phoenix heads, ceramics, canons, swords and coins.

The find started a dispute between heritage and development forces over what to do with the ruins located in what has been Vietnam’s centre of political power for most of its history, from ancient times until today.

The 20,000m sq dig shares a city block with the existing Ba Dinh national assembly and is located near the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam’s revolutionary leader and first president.

At one stage, Vietnam’s government considered moving the legislature to the outskirts of Hanoi, but it has now decided to build the new assembly on the site of the existing Ba Dinh hall, adjacent to the ancient city ruins.