This feature from Vietnam Net Bridge highlights the 1000-year-old history of the royal citadel in Hanoi, as well as the efforts for a World Heritage Listing in 2010.
Digging up the past
Vietnam Net Bridge, 07 December 2008
Since 2004, local and international groups have actively sought further recognition for Thang Long Imperial Citadel. The royal citadel was declared a national historic site and architectural relic in late 2007. A formal application to UNESCO has also been completed with the help of both foreign and local scientists, including those from the Vietnam-Japan Experts’ Joint Committee, the Ile region of France and UNESCO.
Nguyen Van Son, the director of the Centre for Conserving Co Loa Historical and Cultural Site and Hanoi Ancient Citadel, says that the findings at the site prove this was Vietnam’s political centre as far back as the La Thanh period in the beginning of the 9th century when Vietnam was known as An Nam, under the rule of China’s Tang dynasty.
