Hue Citadel visit is beyond means of many Vietnamese

VietNamNet Bridge – The cost of entrance to the Citadel in Hue, a world cultural heritage site, is still more than many Vietnamese can afford.

The Hue ancient citadel.

Cao Xuan Dung and his daughter, Cao Thi Nga, from Nghe An province a few hundred kilometers to the north, stood regretfully at the imposing gate of the royal citadel in the ancient city of Hue. They had come to Hue for the university entrance exams. The father sold 816 kilograms of rice to raise 3.2 million dong for the trip.

Heritage Authority has “no voice” in ticket prices. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Heritage Authority chief, Nguyen Quoc Hung, says that local governments, and not the Heritage Authority, set ticket prices and policies. The Authority, he adds, doesn’t have any influence in such “sensitive” issues.

Standing in front of the gate, Dung told his daughter: “It cost us 340,000 dong to travel here from Nghe An. During these the last two days in Hue, we’ve spent nearly 1 millon dong. We have over 2 million dong left, just enough for us to go to Da Nang for the college entrance exams there, too, so…”

Pausing, Dung sadly looked at his daughter. The girl set her father’s mind at ease, saying: “No problem, Daddy. We can visit this place (the Hue royal citadel) another time. I’m still young. Don’t be worried for me!”

The father didn’t agree. He wanted to buy the entrance tickets while young Nga tried to stop him. Finally, Dung spoke his mind: “Let’s use 35,000 dong to buy a ticket for you to go inside, to know how the Nguyen emperors lived. I will wait for you here.” But his daughter refused.

Hue students in a free tour to the Hue ancient citadel. However, such a chance is very rare.

The father and daughter quietly left the Hue royal citadel that day, the ancient and forbidden royal palace still a mystery for them. Dung returned to his inn grieving that his daughter had missed a chance to experience the heritage of the ancestors.

Dung works on a stock breeding farm in Nghe An province. His wife is a farmer. Their two children are still in school. “Uncle Ho taught that Vietnamese people must know about Vietnam’s history,” he told us. “Our life has been tough, that’s OK, but my children need to know about Vietnam’s history. Understanding our history is knowing about our culture and origin. Here we are, my daughter and I, standing on the ground of our ancient capital, and in front of a world cultural heritage site. If my daughter fails the exams, she will return home to do farm work and get married. That’s all! Perhaps she will not ever have another chance to visit the royal citadel. I’m determined to get her to see the ancient royal palace, even if I have to borrow money to return home.”

How many students are there like Nga, who couldn’t visit the royal citadel in Hue because of the ticket price?

Vietnam’s neighbor, Cambodia opens its magnificent Angkor temples for free to all citizens. Every Cambodian has the chance to admire the heritage of their ancestors. In other countries, students, at least, are exempted from buying tickets or pay a much lower rate.

Tuoi Tre Daily talked with Vice Chairman Ngo Hoa of Thua Thien-Hue province about ticket prices:

Hoa said: “We have special policies for students or war invalids. Students can enter the citadel for half price and it is free for primary students. We also have some free days for the public, for example March 26 (the anniversary of Hue’s liberation in 1975) or the lunar New Year. On average, we exempt ticket fees worth two or three billion dong a year.

Q: How are students exempted from ticket fares?

Hoa: Not only students in our area, student groups visiting from anywhere in the country -- Can Tho, Da Lat, Hai Phong, Hanoi – are exempted or enter for half price. Certainly, they must be registered and enter in groups. If lists of students are sent to the provincial People’s Committee, I will immediately approve 50 percent-off tickets for them.

Q: So, they’ll have to send the list one week before their tour to the Hue Relics Preservation Centre or the Thua Thien-Hue Provincial People’s Committee for approval?

Hoa: We will consider changing the system so that students can buy reduced-fee tickets if they show their student cards.

Q: What do you think about Cambodia? Over there, local people don’t have to pay for visiting their country’s heritage sites. Or about other countries that, though they also sell entrance tickets, have preferential policies for children and the elderly?

Hoa: The management mechanisms in other countries are different from Vietnam. For example, the Cambodian Government auctions the right to manage and exploit Angkor to private companies. The high bidder has to pay the local government a fee.

Heritage sites belong to the people and they were also created by the people. I think in the future, a preferential policy will be expanded. Money is important but the sustaining the people’s awareness of the need to preserve our heritages is more important. If they contribute some money to support this work, their awareness of preservation and development of the sites will be improved.

We want to have more and more people to visit the royal citadel, but to manage this we need a mechanism. When such a mechanism will be established depends on the development of our province and our country. However, we are ready to explore all opinions.