VietNamNet Bridge – Hue is restoring two watch huts that once sat atop the historic Ky Dai 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 Hue Monuments Conservation Centre

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

Hai 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 Hai.

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

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

The Ky Dai 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. 

Scenic: One of the watch huts and an aerial view around the flag tower. Photo provided by Nguyen Van Phuc

Source: VNS