A restored nha ruong in the old village of Phuoc Tich will allow tourists to visit a typical house in the central province of Thua Thien- Hue.

The old house is the first of its kind in the village to be upgraded under a joint project between the province and the Wallonie-Bruxelles region.

The five-room house is owned by Truong Duy Thanh, whose family has lived there for five generations. Located in a 150sq.m area in Phong Hoa Commune, Phong Dien District, the house gradually degraded over time.

"My ancestor built this house when he was a mandarin. My family has lived here despite its physical decline," Thanh said. He had to repair the house many times due to his limited budget.

Then came the project Village Cultural Heritage Preservation and Development for Tourism - An Experiment in Phuoc Tich Pottery Village by the Viet Nam Institute of Culture and Arts Studies (VICAS) and Wallonie Bruxelles's Heritage Institute, under which the house was chosen to be restored due to its historical value, according to Dr Tran Dinh Hang, from the VICAS's Thua Thien- Hue branch.

The house was restored in 10 months with the assistance of two architects from the Wallonie-Bruxelles. The restoration was completed on September 18 with a total investment of 24,000 euros (US$31,000).

"My family is very happy with the restored house. We will display the house as a museum," said Thanh. "I plan to be a host for homestay tourism. It is a long-time dream of mine that has finally come true."

The house restoration is the second phase of the three-year project, which aims to preserve and promote the cultural heritage of Phuoc Tich Village to help tourism development.

Formed in 1470 under the reign of King Le Thanh Tong, Phuoc Tich is the second village in Viet Nam recognised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national cultural and historical relic site.

Spread out along the scenic O Lau River, about 40km north of Hue City, the village still contains over 100 old houses. People here live by making pottery. Phuoc Tich is now a popular tourist destination in Thua Thien-Hue Province. — VNS

Nam Dinh Museum displays private antiquities

HA NOI - (VNS) A range of exciting periods in Vietnamese history are reflected in a new exhibition of antiquities at Nam Dinh Museum, under the theme of Quintessence of Antiquities in the Red River Delta.

The collection of 1,000 artefacts, including 750 found in Viet Nam and the rest collected abroad, are on display in the northern city of Nam Dinh thanks to contributions from private collectors throughout the country.

The valuable artefacts include pottery objects, Buddhist statues and patterns made from terra cotta feature a range of historical landmarks, especially focusing on Tran dynasty (1225-1400), as Nam Dinh was the capital of the country during this period.

This is part of a number events held to celebrate the 750th anniversary of Thien Truong, the former name of the old capital, which remains culturally significant. In 1239, King Tran Thai Tong, whose birthplace was Thien Truong District, in the modern city of Nam Dinh, built a famous royal complex in the region.