The Hanoi People’s Committee on August 28 officially suspended construction work at Chuong My’sTram Gian (One Hundred Compartments) Pagoda, which has recently been illegally repaired through incorrect methods.

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The pagoda, located in Tien Chuong Commune 20km southwest from central Hanoi, has been recognized as a national relic for almost half a century. However, the incorrect methods used during the self-sufficient and spontaneous restoration by local residents and the heads of the pagoda have seriously destroyed the roughly thousand year-old relic’s value.

The pagoda’s walls have been modified with colorful industrial tiles, while paintings have been retouched with modern artistic lacquer paint. The pagoda’s campus has also been turned into a mess many construction stones.

Paintings on walls have been retouched with modern artistic lacquer paint. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Moreover, the age-old meticulously-made steps leading to the pagoda have been replaced with brand-new, modern construction rocks while the pagoda’s ancient ancestor-worshipping house was also dismantled and rebuilt.

The stair leading to the pagoda before (L) and after the reparation. Photo: Tuoi Tre

According to local restoration experts, it requires careful consideration and calculation to restore such an ancient house, and there’s no need to dismantle and reconstruct it. Still, a number of local senior residents have seemed to prefer brand new things.

“The relic is still in good condition, and many details didn’t need to be replaced, but since we can afford the replacement we decided to renew everything,” Tue, 82, a local resident, proudly stated.

A representative of the spontaneous restoration, abbot Khoa of Tram Gian Pagoda, said the money for the construction was donated by local residents and other sources, and was not funded by the State.

Local authorities didn’t know

It’s odd that local authorities from Tien Chuong Commune and the Hanoi culture department said they didn’t know anything about the restoration until it had already been completed after 100 days of work.

After the incident was discovered, Nguyen Duc Hoa, vice director of the Hanoi Department of Culture, Tourism and Sport, stated that no official decision has been released, while confirming that the restoration hasn’t damaged the pagoda’s values as seriously as the local media has said.

“The repair was meant to improve the pagoda. It’s just didn’t meet restoration principals,” he added.

Many people joined in the reparation, still local authorities said they have no idea until it's finished. Photo: Tuoi Tre

In response, Pro-Dr. Nguyen Minh Thuyet, deputy chairman of the National Assembly's Committee for Culture, Education, Youth and Children, wondered how could local authorities didn’t know about the restoration.

“It’s unacceptable that they really didn’t know anything,” he stressed. The professor also calls this a rare and surprising incident which needs to be strongly criticized. In his opinion, Tram Gian pagoda is an architectural work which has traditional, historical, cultural and scientific value.

“If things truly happened as reported, I feel deep regret since we are losing an extremely valuable relic, a relic which doesn’t only belong to Hanoi, but also the whole country,” he said.

Stating a similar opinion, Dr. Le Thanh Vinh of the Institute for Conservation of Monuments under the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism, said, “No matter what they do it for, such construction needs to be stopped. The pagoda could be more durable now, but its values will be damaged”.

In addition, Vu Xuan Thanh, chief inspector of the culture ministry, said the incident at Tram Gian Pagoda could involve criminal charges for destroying national relics. Still, the inspector added that people did it for the good purpose of restoring the relic, so the ministry could impose a financial penalty instead. The fine could be up to VND20million (US$1000) in accordance with current regulations.

Meanwhile, the Hanoi People’s Committee has also asked Chuong My District to consider ways to recover the original form of the relic.

Below are some more photos featuring the pagoda before and after its repaired by Vnexpress: