First imperial park in Hue to be restored

      A draft project to restore the Thieu Duong Imperial Park was approved by the Scientific Council of the Hue Imperial City Relic Preservation Center on March 20th.
The project will be carried out in October 2009, and is expected to be completed by June 2010.
Four traditional wooden houses linking each other by brick alleys will be erected on an area of nearly 8,000 sqm in the Thieu Duong garden, which is located by the northern gate of the Forbidden City, in front of the Royal Library and near Duyet Thi Street.
A stream will flow around the park decorated with ornamental and fruit-trees, and will contain various rock structures.
The restoration is based on several historical documents and on a drawing of the Thieu Duong Garden which was built in 1844.
Thieu Phuong, a famous imperial park, was called by King Thieu Tri one of the ten most beautiful sceneries of the Forbidden City and was a prominent fixture of the twenty landscapes in the ancient city.
The Thieu Phuong Imperial Park is the first to be restored among the 30 imperial parks of the former imperial city of Hue. As planned, the park will be an attraction in the programme “the Royal Evening” during the Hue Festival 2010.