A visit to Vietnam remains void to any traveler who missed out on Thanh Chuong Viet Palace, a Vietnamese cultural destination. Located 35 km from the capital city of Hanoi, an art wonderland displaying the beautiful work of Vietnam’s most celebrated contemporary painter artists and preservationists – Thanh Chuong.A visit to this palace will leave any traveler mesmerized with ancient houses, quite ponds, amidst giant old trees those stood and witnessed all the time travel till present period, artefacts, gazebos, small bridges and garden which helps you to find the peace beyond the imagination along with private art collection of paintings and ceramics.
Thanh Chuong Viet Palace was opened to the public in 2009, dedicated to different ethnic groups displaying variety of Vietnamese cultural tradition. The palace houses 30 constructions deeply inspired by the historic architecture of Vietnam, out of them various styles of stilt houses, some of which are homage to traditional Moung people, a farming community of Vietnam and a 300 years old Hue Imperial house. The houses inside the palace are of mud and bamboo showcasing the life of rural people. In these houses, traveler can experience the simplicity of things used, like bamboo pillow, created to provide comfort with use of bounties provided by nature. The house constructions traverse through dynasties and generations of architecture from Dinh, Le , Ly and Tran dynasty.
Religious architecture is prominent part of Vietnamese culture. Thanh Chuong Viet Palace has temples dedicated to Goddess Mother house and St Tran temple. A visitor can get a glimpse of Confucianism along with Buddhism. Fasting Buddha is one of the important heritage collections by artist Thanh Chuong. He picked it from a local boy in rural Vietnam. Other important collection is Stone Bridge, which is nearly 500 – 600 years old, restored and brought to Hanoi. Originally the bridge is from Nam Dinh, a South province of Hanoi.
A major attraction in this cultural complex is Water puppet show and folk music performances. Water puppetry is unique to Vietnam, one of the oldest art forms displaying common aspects of Vietnamese culture. The design of Water Theater is inspired by the water pavilion in Thay Pagoda, home to creator of Water puppetry, monk Tu Dao Hanh. A 7-story tower is quite an attraction in Thien Huong Pagoda complex. Few buildings are dedicated to paintings and ceramic galleries depicting the paintings of Thanh Chuong. There is a 2-star restaurant, where visitors can rest and enjoy tea, snacks and lunch of local Vietnamese cuisines. One of the most interesting part of Thanh Chuong Viet Palace is all encompassing greenery which bring calmness and serenity to the whole complex. Located in Soc Son mountains, the palace has abundance of trees and various fauna, flowers on pongs generating inner peace for each soul that enters the palace. While walking in the palace complex, small statues between these trees, growing around them, eventually becoming a part of nature.