Theprovincial People’s Committee has decided that each nha vuon owner willreceive financial support of 100 million VND (5,597 USD) to restore thehouse.
Residents who invest in building nha vuon will receive 5 million VND(263 USD) per house towards buying saplings or seeds for trees. Theywill also be granted five-year preferential loans.
Local authorities plan to work closer with tourism firms in theprovince in general and Hue city in particular to support nha vuonowners, who often open their houses to the public free-of-charge, indeveloping business activities.
According to a recent survey conducted by the Hue Relic PreservationCentre, there are 690 typical house gardens in the province. In Huealone, there are 330 such houses, many of which are located in gardenswith a width of 400 sq.m each.
A typical nha vuon in Hue has two main parts: nha ruong and thesurrounding garden, designed according to geomancy (feng shui)stipulations and their owner’s spiritual orientation.
Each nha ruong is built with many beams (ruong) and pillars (cot), and its name is derived from this very characteristic.
Another very distinctive feature is that all beams and pillars are joined by mortise and tenons, not nails.
Roofed with brick tiles, the beams and pilllars of nha ruong are madeof precious and solid wood such as lim (iron wood), gu (sindora) orthong xanh (teranthera pine). The whole house stands on big pillarsplaced on a round or square stone base.
Such houses are mostly located in Hue .
Traditionally, a nha vuon cannot be sold out of the family in order tomaintain ancestral links. However, rocketing land values haveencouraged some people to sell their land or disassemble their nharuong.
Some homeowners who cannot afford to restore their property from theravages of time have disassembled and sold parts to people from otherlocalities.
It this trend continues, a unique feature of the central province will disappear into history and culture books.
Provincial and authorities are hoping the new policies will prove to bea shot in the arm for preservation and revival efforts./.