The traces of Can Chanh Palace

“Historical photos are precious and incredibly powerful when we understand and analyze their smallest details. An enthusiastic team may have researched a certain project for decades. However, if they do not have clear evidence, a historical photo decoded to reveal the research results can completely criticize the team effort in just... one hour,” said Nguyen Tan Anh Phong.

The painting "Long van khe hoi" (Nine dragons in the clouds) is a masterpiece on the ceiling of the old main hall of Dieu De Pagoda, which has been moved around 20 meters backward, and is currently being well preserved to the surprise of many. The painting used to be a topic of heated debate for many years regarding whether to keep in the old main hall or to dismantle it. Dismantling it also meant erasing this masterpiece.

In the process of digitalizing ancient documents about Can Chanh Palace, Nguyen Tan Anh Phong and his collaborators discovered one of the two glass paintings currently hung at the Department of History, College of Sciences, Hue University is the precious painting which used to belong to Can Chanh Palace in the Imperial City.

Once a massive construction in the past, Phung Tien Palace inside Hue Imperial Citadel was completely destroyed after many historical upheavals. Since 2017, the complex of Phung Tien Palace has been gradually restored through a cooperation project between Vietnam and the Federal Republic of Germany to preserve the remaining structures and revive their original shape and function.

Ky Dai (The Flag Tower) is one of the cultural symbols of Hue Ancient Capital, an architectural relic of the Nguyen Dynasty.