Japan will fund $10 million to help Vietnam preserve a wooden building in Hue ancient citadel, one of the world’s cultural heritages, the state-run Vietnam News Agency reported. Japan’s Waseda University will provide official development assistance (ODA) for the Hue Monuments Conservation Center to conduct preservation works for Can Chanh palace in Hue citadel, the agency said. To carry out the project, Japanese experts held for the first time in Vietnam a conference on traditional wooden architecture, which is prominent in the Southeast Asian country. Buddhism flourished during the Ly and Tran dynasties (1010-1400), leading to rapid development in Vietnam’s wooden architecture with the construction of many pagodas, local experts said.Hue is one of the localities prioritizing the preservation of wooden architecture and Japan becomes the biggest financial providers to the conservation of Hue with dozens of million dollars from 1992. (Tin Tuc - News Nov 13 p10)
