According to Professor Nguyen Quang Ngoc, Chairman of Hanoi Historian Association, the Dan Xa Tac was built in 1048 by the Ly Dynasty to worship the Earth and the Rice Goddess and pray for good crops. Dan Xa Tac was classed as a national heritage site by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2007.
Archaeologists found ancient bricks, tiles and pottery proving that the area once held an offering altar
The project will be submitted by the city’s Key Construction Project Management Board to the Hanoi’s People Committee for approval this month. According to the board’s director, Nguyen Sy Bao, the overpass will be built using concrete and have a section running over the Dan Xa Tac site.
Bao added that the overpass will be over half a kilometre long and have four lanes and cost VND 766 billion (USD 36 million). If approved, construction will start this year and complete by 2015.
Although Bao said that the abutments would not lie in the area, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Historical Sciences, Professor Phan Huy Le expressed concern that the construction of would affect the site.“To solve traffic problems is a necessary work but it is also more important that it should not affect a cultural heritage,” he said. “They should be very careful with their plan to ensure that the construction will have no harm to the site.”
Professor Le also suggested the board to consider using steel instead of concrete to build the bridge to reduce possible damage to the site.
Sharing the same opinion, Dang Van Bai, former head of the Cultural Heritage Department at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that a bridge was needed but the construction should take into account the Law on Cultural Heritage.
“Dan Xa Tac is a national heritage site so any works or projects affecting it should be made clear to the public, scientists and cultural managers well in advance,” he explained.
In response to these opinions, Hanoi’s Chairman Nguyen The Thao also agreed that protecting the Dan Xa Tac heritage site should be made priority and the management board of Key Construction Projects also said it would have plans to protect the relics.
However, some scientists have totally objected to building an overpass.
Professor Tran Lam Bien, a cultural researcher said that building an overpass would mean “travelling over the heads of our ancestors”.
“Dan Xa Tac was built to worship god and we shouldn’t build any bridge over this site,” he insisted.
Professor Nguyen Quang Ngoc also suggested a halt to the project, explaining that building an overpass would violate the Law on Cultural Heritage.
The junction O Cho Dua has always been one of the places seeing highest traffic jams during rush hours in Hanoi.
While building Hanoi’s Kim Lien - O Cho Dua Road in November 2006, workers unearthed remains related to Dan Xa Tac.
Archaeologists found ancient bricks, tiles and pottery proving that the area once held an offering altar. Dan Xa Tac was where the Ly, Tran and Le dynasties performed prayer rituals to the heavens and earth for good weather, peace, prosperity and happiness for the people. In theory the area would have significant historical importance.