Vong Canh Hill - community park and even more

Located just over 5 km from Hue city center, Vong Canh hill stands at the most beautiful bend of the Perfume river. Across the river are Ngoc Tran mountain and Hon Chen temple; next to it are Tu Duc and Dong Khanh tombs; and Thieu Tri tomb is a bit further away. At the foot of the hill is Cu Chanh village; across the river is the peaceful Hai Cat village.

Standing on Vong Canh hill, visitors can take a look at the upstream of the Perfume River with the images of Kim Phung and Kim Ke mountains. The mountains and rivers of Hue appear like an ink wash painting viewed from Vong Canh hill.

Those who love to travel to Hue have the same feeling that Vong Canh is the most beautiful place to enjoy the Perfume River, especially when the sun starts to sink below the horizon over the western mountains. The Perfume River is like a red silk strip, with the dragon boats slowly floating as the embellishment of the poetic ink wash painting.

Vong Canh Hill has entered poetry, music, and has been a place for talented photographers to create works of art. From this hill, there have been many magnificent artworks about the Perfume River that were born from dawn to dusk. There have been many works that have won national and international awards, bringing the Perfume River and Hue ancient capital closer to friends in all five continents.

Recently, Vong Canh hill has been more attractive to tourists, especially young people, since it appeared romantically in one scence of the movie "Dreamy Eyes". Visiting Vong Canh Hill is not only for sightseeing but also for the feeling of peace, freedom, tranquility with the scenery.

Travel agencies add romance to Vong Canh Hill when setting up a hut decorated with silk cloth. The breeze blew gently, causing the soft ribbons to sway lightly. Under that romantic setting, visitors sip a glass of white wine, lean back in the chair to feel their soul sailing into the wind, the mountains and the trees. 

Mr. Doan Van Tu, Director of Vespa Sapari Travel Company, said that tourists who came to Hue and "luckily" visited Vong Canh hill could only utter the word "enchanting". Traveling to many places, exploring many destinations, tourists are still surprised by the scenery that nature has bestowed on Hue: Where beauty is separated from the hustle and bustle of city life.

The name Vong Canh (Belvédère - French) was given to the hill during the French colonial period, as it was a beautiful scenic spot.

 

According to researchers, Vong Canh hill has not only been a scenic spot but also a very special position in Hue's landscape system. Vong Canh Hill is considered the screen of Tu Duc tomb. This was a traditional, historical landscapes and has long-lasting value.

Recalling 15 years ago, there was an investment project to make Vong Canh hill become a high-class resort. The public really cared about this issue and thought that the hill should be a common space for the community.

Nguyen Xuan Hoa, a researcher, said that Vong Canh hill was a very special famous relic attraction; and, fortunately Hue still preserved Vong Canh hill to the present. Although it is still a rustic destination, its attraction is indisputable.

 

The first stage of transformation of Vong Canh hill was in 2015, when the provincial People's Committee approved the detailed plan to develop the hill into an ecological area, preserving, embellishing and promoting the values of historical and cultural relics.

Because of its historical roles and significance in the system of landscapes of Hue, recently, the provincial People's Council has approved a project to embellish Vong Canh hill area with a total investment budget around 13 billion VND. Vong Canh Hill would become a park, a public attraction for people and tourists in the future.

Vong Canh with its wonderful scenery

Soon, Vong Canh hill will put on a new coat. According to the Hue Green Park Center, the unit managing this project, it is expected that in July 2020, the renovation would begin and, if all goes well, it would be completed in 2 months to serve local people and visitors.

Mr. Duong Quang Hien, Deputy Director of Hue Green Park Center informed that the construction items at Vong Canh hill included changing the dirt road into a cubic stone road with 4.5m wide. The two sides of the road would be decorated with tomentose rose myrtles, combined with natural stone seats. Ahead of the central flower garden, the flower system would be redesigned according to the colors associated with the surrounding seats. Types of flowers selected for planting include myrtle, heather, European Michaelmas Daisy, violet, raspberry eather, Japanese Chrysanthemum daisies, Solar daisies…

On the Huyen Tran Princess Street route, a parking lot of about 500m2 would be opened, along with that, on Vong Canh hill area, there will be 1 bicycle station for visitors to cycle for sightseeing; it is combined with checkpoints, toilets with gentle architecture, harmonizing with nature.

On the river bank, there would be a boat wharf with natural stone walkways to welcome guests going to visit the hill by boat. Particularly, the watch-tower of Vong Canh hill’s pine forest will be renovated into a wooden sightseeing hut.

“Hue is a muse in a dreamy purple dress which is the legacy of Hue's women. The idea of embellishing Vong Canh hill is to make it a space to honor the purple ao dai of Hue,” said Mr. Duong Quang Hien.

Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Phan Ngoc Tho affirmed that the orientation of the province was to develop a plan to renovate and embellish Vong Canh hill on the basis of preserving, revamping and promoting ecological values and landscapes here; so that Hue would have more tranquil, romantic sightseeing spots, serving local people and visitors.

Chairman Phan Ngoc Tho also said that he additionally would review the scope of the Vong Canh hill area to enhance the expansion of the Perfume River bank in combination with the planning and implementation of the walking system along the river bank from Vong Canh hill to Hue City. At the same time, the province would deploy synchronously the smart bike station projects in the area to serve the needs of cycling tourism at Vong Canh hill and surrounding areas. 

According to Nguyen Xuan Hoa (researcher), it would be favorable if Vong Canh hill is turned into a park. However, that would not be enough. Vong Canh hill must be a brightly polished pearl, not a rough one. Vong Canh Hill must promote the role of a tourist attraction for surrounding destinations and services to be formed and developed.

“Vong Canh Hill must be placed in a more holistic project. The hillside has good infrastructure to welcome guests. Going along with that, it is necessary to plan in details the residential area around Vong Canh hill and Tu Duc tomb, with the system of roads and walkways; architectural orientation of the local houses, and developing various services. From that, publicize the plan to the local people and, when being renovated, the local houses would have to conform to the model of the plan. Those in need will also boldly make investment according to the predetermined plan. The objective is to give the community opportunity to exploit tourism, and to create sustainable livelihoods for people," said Nguyen Xuan Hoa.