Visitors to Uncle Ho memorial house in Duong No Village. Photo provided by the character
Although away from the city center, President Ho Chi Minh memorial house in Duong No is appealing to visitors, especially international ones. The thatched roof house that blends in with nature, the life of the rural people has won the hearts of many international visitors.
The three-compartment tiled roof ruong house (a type of ancient architecture in the 17th century during Vietnam’s feudal dynasty) on Mai Thuc Loan Street is the same. Many visitors share that in the simple and peaceful setting in the city, the stories of Uncle Ho's childhood in Hue become more captivating.
In 2012, Ho Chi Minh Museum organized the tours to visit President Ho Chi Minh museum and memorial relics, connected with tour operators to incorporate these relics into the tours, routes. However, since then, tourists mostly individually not in groups have visited the museum and memorial relics.
Le Thuy Chi, Director of Ho Chi Minh Museum in Thua Thien Hue, said: "The number of visitors to the museum and relics in Uncle Ho’s childhood in Hue remains too modest. Most domestic and foreign visitors only know about the Imperial Citadel and the Nguyen Dynasty’s mausoleums, very few know that Hue is also where the important relics of Uncle Ho's childhood are preserved. "
Uncle Ho memorial house in Duong No Village is the site of traditional education for students
In the meeting with the Department of Culture and Sports in July this year, Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Phan Ngoc Tho suggested that this Department should chair and coordinate with the Department of Tourism and related agencies to make an study of setting up the project on designing the tour of Uncle Ho's childhood in Hue, then report it to the provincial People's Committee so that the Committee can submit it to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Government in order to win the capital to restore and embellish the relics. Currently, Ho Chi Minh Museum is making the study of the options to set up projects, find solutions for actively promoting the value of relics.
Visitors to Uncle Ho's memorial house on Mai Thuc Loan Street
According to Le Thuy Chi, the development of destination content and images associated with the promotion of President Ho Chi Minh museum and memorial relics in Thua Thien Hue tourism development strategy is of great significance to attracting visitors. Ho Chi Minh Museum, tourist units, and tourist businesses should coordinate, promote the publicity in the mass media, design the tours associated with Uncle Ho memorial relics, and focus on launching tourism service products associated with the content of each relic and so on.
Aside from the investment in making the space and landscapes of the relics more spacious and livelier, there is a need to ameliorate the space, renovate the display form in the direction associated with the story of Uncle Ho’s childhood in Hue. Tran Viet Luc, Head of Tourism Research and Development Division, Department of Tourism, said that the team of demonstrators and guides needs to know how to bring the story of Uncle Ho's life and career to life so as to fascinate visitors, especially international ones.
In the dense heritage system, while staying in Hue only within 1-2 days, visitors do not have enough time to participate in a special program on the Uncle Ho relics. Therefore, we can combine these relics with other attractions to organize an integrated tour appealing to visitors. For example, on the way to Thanh Tien, Phu Mau, visitors can stop off at Duong No to visit Uncle Ho memorial house, or after visiting the Imperial Citadel, visitors can visit Uncle Ho memorial house on Mai Thuc Loan Street.
From 2005 to 2008, Vietravel Hue Branch organized the tours with destinations in association with Uncle Ho in Hue, including the memorial houses on Mai Thuc Loan Street, in Duong No Village and Ho Chi Minh Museum with two main routes: Hue City and Sinh Village - Thanh Tien - Duong No - My An Resort with bicycle means of travel. Mr. Hoang Van Khanh, Director of Vietravel, Hue Branch, said: "Initially, we incorporated the games into the tour, guided the teams of university or school students to visit, offer flowers and report on academic achievements. This tour was well received; the international visitors were also very excited despite the small number. However, due to the business adjustment, some destinations are changed, so we suspend the tour. We plan to re-launch this tour later this year in a simpler form. "
Story and photos: Minh Hien