Beautiful Vietnam
Debate over 10-tonne turtle statue at Hoan Kiem Lake
  • By Ha Tung Long | dtinews.vn | March 30, 2017 02:40 PM
Professor Ha Dinh Duc said he totally approves of the idea to install a huge turtle statue at Hoan Kiem Lake.

A member of the public Ta Hong Quan submitted the proposal to Hanoi People's Committee. According to Quan, the statue would be made from bronze and gold. It will be 2.5 metres long, 3.5 metres high and weigh from six to ten tonnes.

He suggested placing the statue at the junction of Hang Khay-Dinh Tien Hoang or at the opposite of Ly Cong Uan Statue. He estimated that it would take two years to complete the statue and funding would be from the private sector.

  

Proposed model of the turtle statue

Professor Ha Dinh Duc, a member of IUCN Species Survival Commission with 20 years of experience about the turtle in Hoan Kiem Lake, said he supported the proposal.

"I knew about this plan since 2011 and gave it my support," he said.

Several other experts including historian Duong Trung Quoc and Vu Khieu, deputy head of the Vietnam Committee for Social Sciences also signed to support the proposal. Only recently, when the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism proposed a 3D model of King Kong that the proposal was again mentioned.

When being asked whether the statue should be the identical twin of the dead turtle, Duc said it was not necessary and they could look at the turtle statue that decorates Vinh Lang Stele at Lam Kinh Temple in Thanh Hoa Province for reference. Even which material should be used must also be discussed because the statue will be displayed for centuries.

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