Hue conservationists complete king's tomb restoration

An inaugurate ceremony of Hien Duc Gate - Minh Mang Tomb was held by the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre in the central city of Hue yesterday.
This is one of the activities to mark the 35th anniversary of Thua Thien-Hue's Liberation Day (March 26).
Enlisted as one of 100 most endangered sites by the World Monument Funds (WMF), the restoration project of the Tomb of Minh Mang King, the second ruler of the Nguyen Dynasty started in 1998.
Hien Duc Gate, one of the buildings in the complex of the Minh Mang Tomb covers an area of 114.475 sq.m and 9.01m in height.
According to director of the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre Phung Phu, natural materials and traditional construction technology were used during the restoration process with the participation of many experienced architects, engineers and artisans.
The restoration project of Hien Duc Gate deployed in July, 2008 with the total expenditure of VND 4.28 billion was sponsored by the WMF and the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industries Group.