A farmer in Vinh Loc District in the northern province of Thanh Hoa recently donated a stone dragon head to the Ho Dynasty Citadel's Heritage Preservation Centre.

Vu Van Bang, a resident of Dong Minh Village, Vinh Phuc Commune, Vinh Loc District said he found the statue, which is 0.55 meters long and 0.6 meters tall, while farming inside the Ho Dynasty Citadel.

According to local archaeologists, the dragon head dates back to the 14th or 15th century and belongs to the Tran and Ho dynasties. It is one of a small number of ancient dragon heads discovered in the locality, and is also the oldest one. The discovery will help experts in restoring a pair of stone dragons that lost their heads inside the citadel.

In related news, in June, the ceremony to receive the certificate recognizing the Ho Citadel as a World Cultural Heritage Site through UNESCO dismayed many visitors and restoration experts by faking some parts of the relic in order to create a colorful and modern stage.

At the event titled "Ho Dynasty Citadel - The Pride of Vietnam"held at the citadel, organizers covered the citadel’s South Gate with synthetic canvas for an LED lightsperformance. Moreover, since they couldn’t bring stone dragon statues from the citadel on stage, they created fake statues made of cardboard painted with stone-like colors.

The cardboard dragons disappointed visitors who had come for the beauty of the real ancient citadel.