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B
ack in the 90s, it was unthinka-
ble that a palace would go up on
the bald hill in Hien Ninh com-
mune, Soc Son district, 40km
from Hanoi, but painter Thanh Chuong
invested vast sums and a huge amount
of time to make it a reality. Thatched
cottages with earthen walls showcase
the typical Vietnamese folk architecture
of the north, while solid wooden hous-
es on stilts replicate the a traditional
houses of Muong ethnic people. Along-
side these, temples, pagodas, towers
and even a theatre combine to illustrate
a thousand years of Vietnam’s history.
However, the Hanoi Department of
Natural Resources and Environment now
alleges that the Thanh Chuong Viet pal-
ace was illegally built on 8,000 square
meters of protected forest land. Immedi-
ately after these accusations, the Hanoi
People’s Committee promulgated a direc-
tive, signed by vice chairman Vu Hong
Khanh, stating that all the violations of
forest land in Soc Son district should
be reported in detail to the committee
before June 16, 2013 to be investigated.
This comes despite the Thanh
Chuong Viet Palace being featured
heavily across local and international
media, including The New York Times,
which compared the complex to The
Cloisters in New York.
It has welcomed Sweden’s King and
Queen, former American ambassador
to Vietnam, Raymond Burghardt, the
deputy ambassador of Spain to Viet-
nam, and many other VIPs.
Since the accusations surfaced,
people have raised their own concerns
about the fate of the palace.
“Looking from above, Thanh
Chuong Viet Palace is mostly green with
trees. It does not break the landscape, it
even adds more cultural and historical
values to it,” said a 40 year old officer,
Ha Ngoc Khanh.
Ngoc Van in Hanoi said that in her
office this matter is discussed at length:
“Most of my colleagues highly appreci-
ate this construction and admire Thanh
Chuong’s ideas and effort. Frankly, such
kind of highly traditional and cultural
work has been no longer created for
long time in Vietnam. People will invest
their money to make profit rather than
preserve tradition and culture. So, the
Palace deserves to be protected in any
circumstances.”
Along with the recognition of its
beauty and artistry, many people ex-
pressed their anger towards the atti-
tude and behavior of the authorities. A
question raised amongst them was why
the authority picked out this matter of
violation after such a long time - the
palace was completed around 10 years
ago. Since that time, Thanh Cuong has
poured huge sums of money into it.
“Who will dare to invest their own mon-
ey to create values for the whole com-
munity like this if it will be judged and
put at risk?” 50 year old Minh Tri asked.
Poet, Nguyen Quang Thieu, who
has stood alongside Thanh Chuong
since the start said: “I am wonder-
ing if Thanh Chuong Viet Palace was
built without licence, so what is the
12
timeout
The curious case of the Thanh Chuong
VIET PALACE
The Thanh Chuong Viet Palace opened its doors nine years ago and quickly
received praise for its preservation of Vietnam’s cultural history. However, the
Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment is now accusing its
owner of building it on restricted land meaning its future is now far from cer-
tain, writes
Hong Nhung