Valuable vestiges uncovered in Hai Van Gate relic site
PSNews - Archaeologists have discovered many important vestiges in Hai Van Gate, the ancient architectural - art historical relic which has been recognized as a national relic in 2017.
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| Hai Van Gate. Photo: Internet. |
Director of the Hue Monuments Conservation Center Phan Thanh Hai said that after two weeks of hard work, archaeologists have discovered many important vestiges in Hai Van Gate.
Accordingly, the team of archaeologists dug 2 meters underground within the area of 100sqm near the foot of Hai Van Gate. Then, they uncovered stone steps and a part of North - South road that were thought from Minh Mang King's reign.
Director Hai announced that this excavation was aimed at discovering the traces of ancient wall, steps and defensive post of Hai Van Gate, contributing to researching and providing overall restoration plan for this relic.
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| Valuable vestiges uncovered in Hai Van Gate. |
Hai Van Gate, which sits atop its namesake mountain pass in central Vietnam, separating Da Nang city and Thua Thien-Hue province, has been recognised as a national relic by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Located 490m above sea level, Hai Van Gate is a relic with profound historical, architectural and artistic value, connecting Da Nang’s Lien Chieu district with Thua Thien-Hue’s Phu Loc district. The Hai Van Pass runs some 21km on the Bach Ma Range, which juts into the East Sea in central Vietnam.
The relic complex was built in 1826 under the rule of the Nguyen dynasty’s Emperor Minh Mang (1791-1841), who ordered the construction of multiple defensive structures on Hai Van Pass to protect the then-capital of imperial Vietnam in Hue. The structures included fortifications, store houses and cannon forts.
According to historical records, after building the complex, Emperor Minh Mang inscribed its name in Vietnamese - “Hai Van Quan” (Hai Van Gate) - on one side of the gate facing Hue Imperial Citadel, and the words “Thien ha de nhat hung quan” (the world’s most marvelous wonder) on the other side facing Da Nang.
The Gate has grown to become a popular attraction among tourists as it offers stunning views of the surrounding water bodies and landscape.
