Vietnam’s royal city adds to its charm with wooden promenade

By Vo Thanh October 16, 2018 | 07:29 pm PT

A wood-paneled pedestrian promenade on the Perfume River is expected to boost tourism in the central city of Hue.

New walkway along iconic river gives a new look for Vietnams royal city

Work on the 380-meter-long walkway on the southern banks of the river took eight months, beginning in February, and was completed a month ahead of schedule, before the flooding season begins.

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The walkway, costing VND64 billion ($2.74 million), is part of a $6 million project to improve city planning funded by the Korea International Cooperation Agency.

The promenade will connect the existing Nguyen Dinh Chieu pedestrian street with Ly Tu Trong Park.

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The walkway’s surface covering more than 2,000 square meters, was paneled with lim (erythrophleum fordii) wood imported from South Africa.

The use of this wood had provoked controversy, with experts saying it was rare, expensive and listed as as endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Local authorities, however, claimed that the city had tested public opinion and found people overwhelmingly (90.6 percent) in favor of using the rare wood.

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Railings of walkway are made of copper.

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A foreign couple go for a walk on the new walkway though it hasn’t been opened to the public, officially.

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City authorities said the pedestrian promenade is set to open before the Christmas season, around the same time that the Nguyen Dinh Chieu pedestrian street along the Perfume River is inaugurated.

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The walkway is near the famous Truong Tien Bridge spanning Perfume River.

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Hue is rich in architectural heritage, having been the imperial capital of the Nguyen Dynasty, the last ruling family to rule the country from 1802 until the end of feudal Vietnam in 1945. It is now a major tourist attraction in the central region.

Authorities are hoping to attract 4-4.2 million tourists this year, with foreign arrivals accounting for 40-45 percent, fetching VND4.2 trillion ($185.2 million) in tourism revenues.

Photos by Vo Thanh, Ty Nguyen