Vietnam: Centuries of Heritage

Vietnam
by Chris Allen

The United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) established five World Heritage sites in Vietnam, four in the central region and one in the northern section. Two are natural Heritage sites while the other three are man-made sites.

The Complex at Hué
Hué was the seat of power during the Nguyen Dynasty from 1802 to 1945, but French colonization restricted imperial control. They let the imperial court exist, but without any real power, until the last emperor Bao Dai resigned in 1945.

The complex itself is a recreation of the palace city in Beijing, if on a slightly smaller scale. The entire city was surrounded by a wall 7-10 meters thick and the forbidden city inside it was surrounded by walls one meter thick. During the Vietnam War, however, the building inside the forbidden city were destroyed during the Communist Tet offensive and then again by the South Vietnamese and American re-conquest.

Much of the city survives, along with numerous mausoleums built to house the bodies of the Nguyen emperors and their houses. It is said the tomb of the emperor Minh Mang, 12 miles south of Hué is the most beautiful.

Ha Long Bay
As one of two natural Heritage sites, Ha Long Bay in northern Vietnam boasts both incredible beauty and excitement. The 434 sq. kilometers protected under Heritage designation is less than a third of the area of Ha Long Bay, but includes 775 of the 1,969 islands. These islands are made of either limestone, schistic material, or are a combination of earthen material left over from eroded mountains – these islands are often inhabited. All the islands have caves and grottos filled with stalagmites and stalactite.

An abundance of diverse flora and fauna inhabits this area. Mostly covered in tropical rain forest, the area is home to more than a thousand different species of fish, along with an incredible variety of mammals, reptiles and birds.

Hoi An
It is not known exactly when Hoi An first became a city, some believe it established an important seaport for My Son and Tra Kieu during the ancient Champa dynasty. What is known is that Hoi An has been used as a central seaport for centuries. Hoi An became a crossroads for economic-cultural exchange and was later essential for the introduction of Buddhism and Christianity into Southeast Asia. The range of architecture in the city reflects these various influences while still retaining its own flavor. Later this port was to become a major center for trade between not only European countries, China and Japan, but also between religions as well. Christians, Buddhists, Muslims and Daoists interacted and traded between each other.

My Son
Located in central Vietnam near Da Nang, My Son has been identified as the spiritual center for the Champa Dynasty, rulers of Vietnam from the 4^th to the 12^th century. The historical periods of the Champa developed their own architectural style, building a different section of the complex to reflect their influences. The complex grew to more than 70 architectural works, connected to each other through intricate brick designs. Many of the artifacts have been moved to the Cham Architectural Museum in Da Nang for restoration and preservation, but carvings and reliefs depicting animals and spirits still cover the stonework.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park
This 2000 sq. km park has long been hailed as a paradise for researchers of grottos and caves. The underground rivers and caverns are said to be the longest in the world. Aside from the 20 kilometers of explored caves underground, lush forest covers 95% of the park above ground, hosting 750 species of plant and over 381 species of four-footed land vertebrates. More than seventy of these species of plants and animals are endangered and listed on the Vietnam red book.

The Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park also holds historical relics from the ancient Chamba dynasty that once ruled Vietnam, as well as bases built to resist French rule in the late 19^th century and sections of the Ho Chi Minh trail used during the Vietnam War. There are also two indigenous groups of people living in the core of the Park who, up until 1962, still wore clothing made form bark and lived in caves or bamboo huts.

Vietnam has a long and varied history not often thought of, but its relics are available for people to explore. The Champa empire lasted 800 years and boasted a huge diversity of architecture and culture while some of the world’s greatest natural diversity lies in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park and in Ha Long Bay.