Tinh Thanh Hoa Holiday Weather today
Date/time of update: November 21, 2024, 3:16 am, Timezone: GMT+7
Clear Sky
Temperature: 24.85°C
Temperature feels like: 24.91°C
Minimum Temperature: 24.85°C
Maximum Temperature: 24.85°C
Atmospheric pressure: 1020hPa
Humidity:58%
Visibility: 10000m
Wind speed: 0.93m/sec
Wind Direction: 14 degrees
Cloudiness: 2%
Sunrise: 2024-11-20 11:10:37
Sunset: 2024-11-21 10:17:29
Ho Family Citadel is in Vinh Long Commune, Vinh Loc District, Thanh Hoa Province. The citadel was built in 1397 and is said to have been completed in three months! (?).
Travel Guide to the Ho Family Citadel, Thanh Hoa
Overview
The stone citadel of the Ho Family is among the few left in the world of the type. In 2011, Ho Family Citadel as listed as Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization).
The site of the citadel was the capital city of Vietnam in 1400-1407 under the Ho Dynasty and the name of the kingdom then was Dai Ngu.
The citadel was primarily a defensive architecture. Ho Quy Ly, who was then the chief mandarin (assuming both administrative and military powers) under the Tran Dynasty, had forecast that the kingdom was under the threat of an invasion by the Chinese Ming Dynasty and there should be some preparations, hence the Ho Family Citadel. Ho Quy Ly was later the king of Vietnam - the Dai Ngu Kingdom (1400-1407).
Architecture
Ho Family Citadel is built in a region with mountains around. There are two rivers: the Ma River to the east and the Buoi River to the west. The site was naturally protected and it was favorable for the defenders in case of invasion.
The stone citadel is the inner citadel of the capital city. There was the outer citadel built of earth and protected by moats and bamboo hedges of which the total width was 50m. The earth citadel was 6m high, 9m thick on the top and 37m wide at the base. The outside was vertical.
The sides of the inner citadel were 877m and 880m long. The size of most of the slabs of stone is 2mx1mx0.7m (length, width, height respectively). The weight of each slab of stone ranges: 10-16-26 tons. There are 4 gates to the north, south, east and west all of which are built with vault architecture. There is no mortar in between the blocks of stone.
How to get there
Ho Family Citadel is 45km north-northwest of Thanh Hoa City via Route 45 and Route 217; and is 140km south of Hanoi via Route 1A and Route45. All roads are in good conditions: Route 1A is busy always and Route45 is quiet with lovely rice fields, corn fields and mountains by the roadsides.
Alternatively, take a historical tour by Paradissa which can be done in a day and which can be combined and extended to include Ninh Binh.
