Trash occupies Vietnam’s imperial citadel

The eastern side of the Imperial Citadel in Hue City, Thua Thien Hue Province, has the appearance of a huge dump site.

The once picturesque moat around the citadel, dug during the reign of the Nguyen dynasty to regulate water and reduce waterlogging in the inner city, is clogged and full of garbage.

Ngu Ha river clogged with waste. Photo by Vo Thanh

Along the Dong Ba gate to the citadel walls in Phu Hoa Ward, locals have encroached on the Ngu Ha river, and rubbish is floating all around. In some areas, weeds and trash have piled so high they reached the top of the citadel wall.

People living on the banks of the Ngu Ha River are dumping their trash in the river, residents in Thuan Thanh and Thuan Loc wards also throw garbage at the foot along the citadel wall, and the area stinks.

A waste dump right at the wall of the Hue Citadel. Photo by Vo Thanh

Many households do not only litter but have also set pipes to discharge domestic sewage directly into the river, said Nguyen Thi Vinh, 67, who lives near the Ngu Ha river.

"On hot and sunny days, I cannot sit in my house because of the stench from the river. I just hope everyone will stop littering the river and that the government soon clears the river to reduce pollution,” Vinh added.

Ngu Ha river is heavily polluted by trash and sewage dumped in it by local residents. Photo by Vo Thanh

Ton That Thai, Chairman of Phu Hoa Ward, said the Ngu Ha River had been polluted for many years, because of the actions of the people dumping their trash in it.

He said local authorities plan to coordinate with the Hue Conservation Center to dredge a 500-meters long, 8.5-meters wide section of the Ngu Ha River.

The citadel is a part of Hue’s Complex of Monuments, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. The place includes many vestiges of the Nguyen dynasty and is among the top historical and tourism sites in Vietnam.