Deputy Prime Minister: Planning for Kim Lien Relic Site must have consistency in architectural language

On the morning of October 27, in Hanoi, the People's Committee of Nghe An province coordinated with T&T Group Joint Stock Company to organize a conference to report on the plan for the "Master plan for the special national relic of President Ho Chi Minh Memorial Site in Kim Lien, Nam Dan district, Nghe An province".

Delegates attending the working session. Photo: Dao Tuan

Attending the conference on the Central side were comrades: Vuong Dinh Hue - Politburo member, Deputy Prime Minister;Nguyen Sinh Hung - former member of the Politburo, former Chairman of the National Assembly;Phan Dinh Trac - Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Central Internal Affairs Commission; Nguyen Xuan Thang - Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council, Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics; Nguyen Dinh Toan - Deputy Minister of Construction; representatives of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism...

On the side of Nghe An province, there were comrades: Nguyen Dac Vinh - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation; Thai Thanh Quy - Alternate Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Members of the Provincial Socio-Economic Advisory Group; leaders of relevant departments, branches and sectors.

Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee Thai Thanh Quy delivered the opening speech at the conference. Photo: Dao Tuan

The relic bears the typical features of the Vietnamese countryside.

In his opening speech, Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee Thai Thanh Quy affirmed that Nam Dan district is a "spiritual land of outstanding people" with a long history and culture. This is the homeland of many famous people of the nation such as Mai Hac De, Phan Boi Chau, ... and especially President Ho Chi Minh - the national liberation hero - an outstanding cultural celebrity.

The house where President Ho Chi Minh was born in Hoang Tru village, Kim Lien commune, Nam Dan district. Photo: Le Thang

Kim Lien Relic Site was established in 1956, with an area of ​​205 hectares, located in Kim Lien commune, Nam Dan district, Nghe An province. This place has long been in the consciousness and become familiar to generations of Vietnamese people. In 2012, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 548/QD-TTg, ranking Kim Lien Relic Site as a special National Relic, becoming one of the most significant National Relics in Vietnam about President Ho Chi Minh.

A perspective view of the Kim Lien Relic Site planning.

Kim Lien Relic Site is a place that preserves many documents, artifacts, cultural and historical spaces about President Ho Chi Minh's childhood and his two visits to his hometown. The relics preserved and restored at Kim Lien Relic Site include two main relic clusters: Sen Village Relic - Uncle Ho's paternal hometown and Hoang Tru Relic - Uncle Ho's maternal hometown along with dozens of component relics. In addition to the two main relic clusters above, Ho Chi Minh Special National Relic Site also has the relic of Mrs. Hoang Thi Loan's tomb - Uncle Ho's mother.

Conference scene. Photo: Dao Tuan

In order to plan the synchronous construction and connection of historical and cultural relics in the area such as: Sen Village - Uncle Ho's paternal hometown, Hoang Tru Village - Uncle Ho's maternal hometown, Chung Son Temple, Hoang Thi Loan's tomb, tourist service areas, technical infrastructure systems serving Kim Lien Historical Relic Site, on August 7, 2018, the Prime Minister issued Decision 962/QD/TTg approving the overall planning task of preserving, embellishing and promoting the value of the special National Relic Site of President Ho Chi Minh in Kim Lien, Nam Dan district, Nghe An province.

To ensure the preservation, conservation and promotion of the value of this special relic site and to serve well the political tasks, the needs of visiting and offering incense to commemorate Uncle Ho of a large number of domestic and international tourists, Nghe An province has coordinated with T&T Group Joint Stock Company to organize a competition for ideas and establish a planning project. Through the competition, two design consulting units were selected: International Architecture Company: 1+1>2 and Deso Asia Design Consulting Joint Stock Company. Currently, the master plan design project for the preservation, restoration and promotion of the value of the special National Monument of President Ho Chi Minh Memorial Site has been established at a scale of 1/500.

A planning perspective of Kim Lien Relic Site.

At the meeting, a representative of Deso Asia Design Consulting Joint Stock Company (France) presented the master plan design project for the special national monument of President Ho Chi Minh Memorial Site in Kim Lien.

Accordingly, the relic is designed on the principle of respecting traditional space and landscape, preserving intact historical structures in the overall cultural space of the area. The relic is a complex of structures planned and built like traditional Vietnamese villages. In which, the President Ho Chi Minh Memorial Area is the focal structure with an intangible connection to the entire area. The planning also does not affect the area of ​​​​production land and agricultural cultivation of local people.

In terms of space organization, the subdivisions are implemented from left to right to the center. There are places to learn about culture, history and craft villages. In addition, there are hotels whose height does not exceed the trees in the area; Construction materials are light, environmentally friendly materials such as bamboo and rattan and the principle of using locally, not imported from abroad...

Monuments must have historical and cultural connections with future cultures.

Former National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung gave comments at the conference. Photo: Dao Tuan

"Chung Son Three-Tripod-Shaped King Temple/Heroic descendants succeed to the throne"- Quoting La Son Phu Tu Nguyen Thiep's saying about his hometown Nam Dan, Nghe An, former Politburo member and former National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung said that the investment in construction and overall planning of the special National Monument of President Ho Chi Minh Memorial Site in Kim Lien, Nam Dan is very necessary and worthy of respect.

With the affection of a son of Nam Dan hometown, he recalled: Kim Lien in the past had many trees, lakes, birds, fish, and a peaceful space, so the design project had to create a highlight and ensure the harmony of this characteristic.

When planning and constructing relics, they must not only have connections within the region and province, but also create focal points linking with provinces and cities that are closely associated with the life and career of Uncle Ho and his relatives, such as Dong Thap province (where Mr. Nguyen Sinh Sac - President Ho Chi Minh's father used to live and work) - Hue, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City...

Planning of cultural tourism area with an area of ​​45 hectares.

The relic must have a connection between historical culture and future culture on the basis of emphasizing the spiritual cultural life of the residents in the area.

Agreeing with this view, Dr. Tran Dinh Thien - former Director of the Vietnam Economic Institute, member of the Economic - Social Advisory Group of Nghe An province, said that the process of designing, planning and constructing the special National Monument of President Ho Chi Minh Memorial Site must honor the sacred and noble values ​​that only exist in Kim Lien, Nam Dan - the birthplace of the great son of the nation; limit the use of concrete construction in the design and implementation of the planning; must exploit all the heritages and traces that are very close but have become legends about Uncle Ho and this special land.

The project must gather and connect friends around the world, international tourists to Vietnam, Nghe An and Nam Dan. This is also what President Ho Chi Minh did in his life and career.

Participating in giving comments on the master plan, former Minister of Trade Truong Dinh Tuyen, member of the Nghe An Province Socio-Economic Advisory Group, proposed to build a waiting room to facilitate tourists when visiting Kim Lien Relic. In addition, promoting the cultural heritage of Nghe Tinh Vi and Giam folk songs through the formation of Vi and Giam singing clubs and fabric guilds to serve visitors and honor this special art form.

Comrade Nguyen Xuan Thang - Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council, Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics spoke at the conference. Photo: Dao Tuan

Speaking at the conference, comrade Nguyen Xuan Thang - Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council, Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics noted that the process of designing and constructing relics needs to show in detail and specifically the connections between tangible and intangible historical and cultural works in the region.

Comrade Phan Dinh Trac - Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Central Internal Affairs Commission spoke at the conference. Photo: Dao Tuan

Comrade Phan Dinh Trac - Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Central Internal Affairs Committee affirmed that the design project basically met the requirements for the project with special significance for President Ho Chi Minh. The Head of the Central Internal Affairs Committee also noted some characteristics of materials and structures of the projects in the weather and climate conditions of Nghe An. The project needs to demonstrate the harmony between day and night, and spatial highlights at different times. In addition, there is a hierarchy of conservation levels in the core and buffer zones of the relic...

At the meeting, representatives of the Department of Cultural Heritage - Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and leaders of the Ministry of Construction also participated in speaking to clarify the issues and contents that the relic planning design needs to implement and aim for.

The relic must represent the soul of the people and land of Kim Lien.

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue spoke at the conference. Photo: Dao Tuan

Welcoming the opinions of the delegates contributing to the master plan of the special National Monument of President Ho Chi Minh Memorial Site in Kim Lien, Nam Dan, speaking at the working session, Comrade Vuong Dinh Hue - Politburo member, Deputy Prime Minister said that the idea of ​​planning, preserving and constructing the monument was formed about 10 years ago, at the time when the Government started implementing the National Target Program on new rural construction. The planning and construction of this special monument is in line with practical requirements.

Considering the overall planning design, the Deputy Prime Minister said that the architecture and design have reasonable connections both physically and non-physically in the common space. However, it is necessary to detail the construction of the road system, traffic, and technical infrastructure to ensure convenience and harmony.

Comrade Vuong Dinh Hue also said that although the design has met a number of requirements according to Decision 962/QD/TTg of the Prime Minister on "The task of master planning to preserve, restore and promote the value of the special National Monument of President Ho Chi Minh Memorial Site", the design has not clearly shown the soul of the architecture, has not created the unique features and symbols of the project. Therefore, the highest requirement is that the design unit must have consistency in the architectural language of the project...

Comrade Nguyen Dac Vinh - Secretary of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee spoke at the conference. Photo: Dao Tuan

Receiving the direction of the Deputy Prime Minister as well as the enthusiastic opinions of the delegates at the working session, comrade Nguyen Dac Vinh - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Nghe An province said that the province highly appreciates the attention and assistance of the Party and State leaders, central ministries, branches, domestic and international units for the special national relic of Kim Lien, Nam Dan.

Adding his comments to the planning design, the Secretary of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee emphasized that Nam Dan is the land where the personality and morality of President Ho Chi Minh - the beloved Father of the nation, who is respected by people all over the world, were formed. Therefore, the planning design must be done in such a way that international tourists can understand more about the noble and symbolic qualities of the homeland and people of Vietnam when coming to Nam Dan.

Currently, the design project is still in its directional nature, and when realized, it will face many difficulties and challenges. The highest goal when constructing is to absolutely preserve the heritage and cultural works of the relic in order to propagate and educate about history and patriotism.

Kim Lien relic is a spiritual asset of the nation and people, therefore, the province will strengthen inspection and supervision, especially in the process of planning design and construction investment. Nghe An will coordinate with the design consultant and related units to complete the project in early 2020 before submitting it to the Government for consideration...

Kim Lien Relic Complex, Nam Dan. Illustration by Google Maps