“Visiting” Co Ha Garden

As recorded, this garden was built in 1837, under the reign of Emperor Minh Mang, then it was upgraded, supplemented, and restored many times under the reigns of Emperor Thieu Tri and Emperor Tu Duc. The name of Co Ha is taken from the word Van Co Thanh Ha, which means “the peace in a myriad of worries”. During its heyday, Co Ha Garden had a rich system of architectural works with the temple, communal house, palace, lobby, etc.… However, due to the time and war, Co Ha Garden has become dilapidated and devastated; many works have lost its traces. In the effort to preserve Hue Complex of Monuments, Co Ha Garden is being revived step by step.

Through the photos taken by the photographer Nguyen Phong, Thua Thien Hue Weekly would like to invite you to visit Co Ha Garden with the left-over traces. Together with the photos, Mr. Nguyen Phong informed: “The photo of Kham Van Palace is priceless. This is an important palace in Co Ha Garden, which was used to be requisitioned to hold the court by Emperor Tu Duc”, or “the photo of the garden’s overall view shows a series of works that have lost all traces, with distorted foundations. However, it is becoming clearer thanks to the priceless old documentary photos that we bought from the auction in France”.