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According to the Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi, from the reign of King Gia Long to the 1st year of Minh Menh (1820), the Ninh Hoa Prefectural Hall served as the district-level administrative headquarters; in the 12th year of Minh Menh (1831), this seat was rebuilt with a more spacious scale, befitting a district-level (later a Prefecture) administrative headquarters[1]. Today, the Ninh Hoa Prefectural Hall is located in Ninh Hoa Ward, Khanh Hoa Province.
1- Description of the relic:
The Ninh Hoa Prefectural Hall is a rectangular architectural structure with four gabled end walls, facing Southeast. Overall, the relic is structured according to the traditional house motif of the Khanh Hoa plains, following a 3-bay, 2-lean-to style. Notably, the wall section in front of the porch and the roof are decorated using motifs from the ancient citadel architecture of the Hue imperial capital—the traditional architecture of the Nguyen Dynasty. This gives the relic both an ancient aesthetic and the solemnity of a public office, featuring harmonious architectural design and high artistic value.
The main building is the administrative hall, with steps and a platform built of brick paved with cement (dimensions 3.3m x 4.6m). This was the site used to announce royal decrees and edicts from the imperial court to the subordinate officials at the Prefecture.
Passing the platform is a corridor running the entire length of the front of the house, measuring 2.3m x 16.8m. The main hall has an area of 148.2m2. The primary load-bearing structure of the house, supporting the roof system above, consists of 26 round wooden columns. The central bay is the workspace of the Prefect, measuring 4.6m x 9.5m, and the two side bays are workspaces for subordinates, measuring 5.5m x 9.5m; each side room consists of 01 main bay and 01 small lean-to. The two gables of the two work rooms have staircases at both ends, topped with arched door thresholds.
Roof system: The Prefectural Hall has a 4-slope roof structure, including two front-back slopes and two gable slopes, covered with yin-yang tiles. The upper part of the roof eaves is decorated with hexagonal, circular, and rhombus-shaped cutouts. This serves as a highlight of the folk architecture of the Khanh Hoa plains from the late 19th to early 20th centuries.
The surrounding wall system has 5 brick-built arched doors, with arched thresholds on top in Western architectural style, placed parallel and symmetrically.
Previously, behind the left side bay, there were also quarters for soldiers and a detention room, but due to historical events, these no longer exist.
Fundamentally, the house has maintained its original structure, and the most recent restoration (in 2005) returned the relic to its original function as an administrative hall. With the aim of promoting and educating the younger generation on historical traditions, in 2010, Khanh Hoa province proceeded to collect, restore, and reconstruct artifacts and images for display at the Ninh Hoa Prefectural Hall as follows:
- Central bay: displays a set of furniture and a statue simulating the scene of the Prefect working, a book chest on the right, and a wooden tube containing cowhide and stingray whips on the left. On the table are a brush holder, inkstone, seals, and a box for command tallies. At the Prefect's seating position, there is also a pair of ceremonial fans and a parasol, looking very imposing. Behind the Prefect are placed ceremonial weapons (10 types of ancient weapons) and an attendant sitting and pulling a fan. In addition, two oil paintings are hung on the side walls depicting the scene of the July 16, 1930 event at O Ga mountain and the Ninh Hoa Prefectural Hall.
Simulation of the Prefect at work
- Left bay: served as the residence for the Prefect's family and attendants; it displays a set of traditional wooden furniture (Trang ky), two glass cabinets containing artifacts: old military uniforms, the Prefect's attire (turban, silk tunic, suit, fedora, black tie, leather shoes, wooden clogs), a set of swords and sabers (2 swords, 2 sabers), a set of ceramic water pipes, a mother-of-pearl inlaid tray with a tea set, and a lime pot. Also in this bay are 2 statues of soldiers carrying a hammock, 01 statue of a parasol bearer, and 1 statue of a person pulling a cart.
Two glass cabinets containing the Prefect's artifacts
Simulation of 2 statues of soldiers carrying a hammock, 01 statue of a parasol bearer
- Right bay: was the office of the Prefect's scribe, used to receive citizens before they met the Prefect or to communicate information and orders from the Prefect... This place displays 02 sets of desks and chairs for the scribe to work and receive guests.
All 3 rooms also display 20 photographs (ranging in size from 70 x 90cm to 1.6m) of typical historical relics, scenic spots, and traditional craft villages in Ninh Hoa.
2- Historical events:
The Ninh Hoa Prefectural Hall is a site that witnessed many important historical events in Khanh Hoa, contributing to the country's common victory. Some notable events:
* First event
In 1930, concurrently with the establishment of the Khanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee, the Tan Dinh District Party Committee was also founded, headed by Comrade Le Dung, a member of the interim Provincial Party Committee. Implementing the decision of the Cochinchina Party Committee, and based on a high assessment of the revolutionary movement in Tan Dinh district, the interim Khanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee instructed the Tan Dinh Party Committee to mobilize the masses for protest demonstrations to support the movement in Nghe An.
On the night of July 15, 1930, more than 500 people from the areas of Hon Khoi, Suoi Re, Xuan Hoa, Diem Tinh, Phuoc Da, Quan Dong, Phuoc Thuan... gathered secretly at the North of O Ga mountain to prepare for the demonstration. Around 5 a.m. on July 16, the protest march entered National Route I (the section from the intersection of National Route I to the current town hospital), led by 5 women: Nguyen Thi Mien, Nguyen Thi Chuot (from Hon Khoi), Nguyen Thi Thich, Mai Thi Ty, and Huynh Thi Suong (from Suoi Re). They shared the duties of holding flags, banners, beating command drums, and walking at the front of the crowd was Comrade Duong Chuoc holding a whistle for command. Following them were salt workers, fishermen, farmers, artisans, and small traders, with self-defense units at each section, such as Mr. Ngo Nhu (Hon Khoi) and Nguyen Ba (at the district seat). As dawn broke, the demonstrators unfurled flags and banners, marching into the heart of the district seat, with whistles blowing and drums beating incessantly. They marched while chanting resounding slogans, and the crowd of onlookers grew dense. The following slogans were chanted:
- Down with the French Empire and the feudal Southern Court!
- Support the Nghe-Tinh worker-peasant movement!
- Down with terrorism!
- Reduce taxes and levies!
- Abolish market taxes, increase rice prices!
- Support the Soviet Union!
Many people responded enthusiastically, joining the demonstration and chanting slogans together; the protest group grew larger and larger, reaching up to thousands of people, with an increasingly strong momentum. The demonstrators marched into the District Hall; Prefect Dinh Ba Can and his subordinates were terrified and did not dare to take any counter-actions. The demonstrators stood crowded in front of the hall, while Comrade Duong Chuoc and two self-defense members entered the office to present a petition to the Prefect and clarify the purpose and significance of the demonstration. Prefect Dinh Ba Can, frightened, had to accept the petition; he was trembling as he signed it. Another group of self-defense members opened the jail doors to release the prisoners.
Having achieved victory, the demonstrators spread out to the streets, paraded through the town, and gathered in front of Dinh market for a rally. Residents of the town and compatriots shopping in the market came to listen in large numbers. Comrade Duong Chuoc stood up to expose the plots and crimes of the colonialists and feudalists, while briefly stating the guidelines and policies of the Communist Party of Vietnam, calling on compatriots to unite and rise up to fight against oppression and exploitation. Regarding this momentous event, in the annual report (6/1930 – 5/1931) of the French Resident, it was admitted: “On July 16, 1930, from 6 to 7 a.m., a group of 700 to 1000 people detained the Prefect of Tan Dinh (Ninh Hoa) at the district hall. They released this only detainee after forcing him to sign a document abolishing taxes. The demonstration included a large number of people from Ba Ha. At the head of the demonstration were drums and red flags with hammer and sickle. A relatively large number of women were at the front of the demonstration[2]".
The success of the demonstration on July 16, 1930, was a brilliant milestone marking the beginning of the glorious revolutionary struggle era of the Party Committee and people of Ninh Hoa district. That spirit continued to spread and served as a premise for the glorious victory in the two resistance wars against the French colonialists and the American imperialists of the district. To mark this momentous event, the Provincial Party Committee and the People's Council of Khanh Hoa province issued a Resolution, designating July 16 every year as the "Traditional Day of Revolutionary Struggle of the Party Committee and People of Khanh Hoa Province".
* Second event
In 1931, Tan Dinh district and 03 cantons of Quang Phuoc district were merged into Ninh Hoa Prefecture; the Tan Dinh district hall became the Ninh Hoa Prefectural Hall.
In August 1945, the uprising in Van Ninh broke out and was successful, opening the revolutionary momentum in Khanh Hoa. The revolutionary movement to seize power in Ninh Hoa Prefecture rose, starting from the Hon Khoi area on the morning of August 15, 1945. After the victory at Hon Khoi, the uprising broke out successively in the villages of Phuoc Thuan, Noi My... adjacent to Phuoc Thien canton, then spread to all surrounding areas. By August 16, 1945, the people of Ninh Hoa rose up to seize power in almost all rural areas.
On the morning of August 17, 1945, tens of thousands of people from villages around the prefectural seat poured into the streets, raising flags and banners in protest, then marched into the prefectural seat from all directions. The demonstration group from the East and Northeast marched into the French-Vietnamese Primary School; the Ninh Hoa town area was filled with a sea of people, red flags with yellow stars filled the sky; the sound of drums and slogans echoed, as they marched heavily into the Prefectural Hall. Prefect Ho Hung brought the official seals and 800 Indochinese dong he had prepared in advance to hand over to the representatives of the Viet Minh. Afterward, the demonstrators gathered to hold a rally at the stadium next to the Prefectural Hall (now the town's Cultural and Sports Center). The rally turned into an armed march, spreading back to the areas with a jubilant spirit filling the hamlets.
After winning the August Revolution in 1945, the Interim Revolutionary Committee of Ninh Hoa Prefecture was based at the Ninh Hoa Prefectural Hall. On September 2, 1945, revolutionary cadres and local people gathered at the Prefectural Hall to hear via radio the Declaration of Independence giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, read by President Ho Chi Minh at Ba Dinh Square (Hanoi).
The Ninh Hoa Prefectural Hall was also where the Interim Revolutionary Committee of Ninh Hoa Prefecture organized patriotic movements such as: "Gold Week," "Independence Fund," "Resistance Rice Jar," "Rice Jar for the Soldiers"... in the early days of gaining independence.
In addition, the Ninh Hoa Prefectural Hall was also the site of other events such as: The founding and garrison place of the Front Command of the Nha Trang and Central Highlands Front; where the people gathered to hear Comrade Le Van Hien read Uncle Ho's letter to the compatriots and soldiers of Khanh Hoa; where the General Election for the National Assembly of Vietnam was held; where Comrade Vo Nguyen Giap came to work and stay during his inspection of the combat situation of the army and people of Khanh Hoa...
With the historical-cultural values of the Ninh Hoa Prefectural Hall, on August 21, 2000, the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) issued Decision No. 16/2000/QD-BVHTT classifying the Ninh Hoa Prefectural Hall as a National historical-cultural relic.
[1] Nguyen Dynasty National History Institute (2012), Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi (Volume 1), Labor Publishing House, p.632.
[2] Ninh Hoa District Party Committee Propaganda Department (2004), Ninh Hoa with the Historical Event of July 16, 1930, Khanh Hoa Department of Culture and Information, p.20.
Source: https://disanvanhoa.khanhhoa.vn/
