Watch huts on Huế’s flag tower to be restored

March 13, 2018 - 09:00

Huế is restoring two watch huts that once sat atop the historic Kỳ Đài flag tower in this former imperial capital city.

Coming back: The flag tower and two watch huts on the top platform of the tower. Photo provided by Huế Monuments Conservation Centre
Viet Nam News

THỪA THIÊN- HUẾ — Huế is restoring two watch huts that once sat atop the historic Kỳ Đài flag tower in this former imperial capital city.

According to Phan Thanh Hải, director of Huế Monuments Conservation Centre, a local government body managing relics related to the Nguyễn Dynasty (1802-1945) in the city, the centre has completed the study process and started rebuilding the watch huts.

Hải said the restoration of the watch huts began according to a request by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2017, aiming to ensure the authenticity of this historic tower.

Study results showed that the huts were first built 200 years ago on the top floor of the tower, serving as shelters for guards who were in charge of watching for threats to the citadel, according to Hải.

The centre director also added that time and war had collapsed the concrete huts, leaving their foundations at the scene.

Hải said the restoration work is expected to be completed by April, ahead of the upcoming biennial cultural event Huế Festival 2018.

The Kỳ Đài Tower, which was built in 1807 for observation and signalling with flags, consists of three pyramidal platforms, with a total height of 17.5m; and some canons and a 37m large flagpole.

It was at this tower that flags were changed in 1945, ending the imperial regime in the country.

Earlier, the centre installed 1,000 LED lights for lighting the tower up every weekend in an attempt to attract tourists to the citadel at night. — VNS

Scenic: One of the watch huts and an aerial view around the flag tower. Photo provided by Nguyễn Văn Phúc

E-paper