Hue creates more museums

THUA THIEN-HUE Hue’s city authorities plan turn the riverside Le Loi Street into a cultural boulevard featuring museums and galleries to showcase the city’s history.

Tuoi Tre News quoted the province’s Department of Culture and Sports director, Phan Tien Dung, saying the street, which runs along the banks of the city’s Huong River (Perfume River), will ultimately have as many as six museums.

Apart from the existing Ho Chi Minh Museum and Le Ba Dang Art Centre that are housed on Le Loi Street, the province will upgrade the existing Hue Cultural Museum.

The World Heritage town’s festival centre will be turned into Diem Phung Thi Sculpture Museum, while the office of the city’s Tourism Promotion Centre will become an embroidery museum, the director said.

In the long-term, the headquarters of the provincial administration, which is currently located on the street, will be moved to the new administration hub in An Van Duong urban area and the building will be turned into the Hue Museum of Fine Arts.

Le Loi Street is one of the most beautiful streets in Hue running parallel with the Perfume River. It begins at Hue rail station and ends at the Dap Da Bridge.

Once the cultural projects are completed it will be a showcase and a fine example  of what a town with a World Heritage site should look like, the director commented noting it would reflect ancient cultural and art.

Hue is the capital of Thua Thien Hue province in central Vietnam and its ancient imperial palace is on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Over 2.74 million tourists visited the destination in the first 10 months of 2016, representing a year-on-year increase of 12%.

Around 900,000 were foreigners, up 3% over the same period last year.

Last year, the province welcomed 3.1 million tourists, up 8%, while it earned a tourism related revenue of USD132 million, up 10% over 2014. More than 800,000 international tourists travelled to the province last year.

This year, the province expects to welcome 3.1 to 3.3 million tourists, including 1.2 to 1.3 million foreigners.