The central province of Thua Thien – Hue will set aside at least 5 billion VND (over 230,000 USD) to restore 3-5 typical garden houses between 2015 and 2020.

A council to assess the value of garden homes for classification and financial distribution will be set up, according to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Phan Ngoc Tho.

Local authorities will cover the full interest rate of preferential loans offered to owners who want to restore their property, he noted.

The province will support garden home owners to buy seedlings, open tourism services, train tour guides, improve infrastructure and organise traditional cuisine and music events, he added.

According to the Hue Relics Preservation Centre, Thua Thien-Hue is now home to 690 traditional houses called “nha ruong”, half of which are located in the imperial city of Hue. Each house includes a garden at least 400 square metres wide.

Blossoming under the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945), the last royal monarchy in Vietnam’s history, “nha vuon” (garden houses) such as An Hien, Lac Tinh Vien, Tinh Gia Vien, Ty Ba Trang and Ngoc Son Cong Chua are a prominent feature of Hue.

A typical garden house in Hue has two main parts: “nha ruong” (house built with many beams [ruong] and pillars [cot]) and the surrounding garden, designed according to geomancy and their owners' spiritual life and skills.

VNA