Besides the Preah Vihear dispute, Southeast Asia added another World Heritage Site into the register in the form of the Thang Long Citadel, a 1,000-year-old building in the heart of Hanoi. This addition especially timely since Vietnam is celebrating the 1000th anniversary of the citadel this year, and has become the 10th property in Vietnam to be awarded World Heritage Site status.
Thang Long citadel nominated for World Heritage status
Thanh Nien News, 30 July 2010
Citadel named World Heritage Site
Viet Nam News, 02 August 2010
The Hoang Thanh Thang Long ( Thang Long Royal Citadel), Viet Nam’s historic capital, was recognised as a World Heritage by UNESCO at the meeting of its World Heritage Committee in Brazil yesterday.
The citadel was among the 32 sites, including 24 cultural and two natural-cultural heritage sites, newly recognised by the committee.
“This is a valuable gift and a very significant event for the Vietnamese people and the capital city of Ha Noi before its 1,000th anniversary in October,” said an official from the Ha Noi People’s Committee.
A group of six French specialists in history, archaeology, museum studies, urban studies and architecture had reported to the UNESCO committee: “We examined archaeological sites at No 18 Hoang Dieu Street, and we have come to the conclusion that this site represents world heritage value of the highest significance.”