The biennial event will be of great significance as it coincides with central Thua Thien Hue province’s 700^th anniversary to be held later this year.

Nam Giao rite was the biggest ritual celebration of the year before the French invasion as it prayed for national stability, prosperity and bumper crops. The ceremony began in 1807 during the reign of King Gia Long’s resign and usually took place in the first weeks or month of the lunar calendar. In 1890, the Nam Giao event was celebrated once every three years as the reigning King Thanh Thai realized that it cost a lot of money. The last rite was held in March 1945 during the reign of Bao Dai, Vietnam’s last emperor. The Director of the Thua Thien Hue provincial Department of Culture and Information Nguyen Xuan Hoa said “Nam Giao rite is not only a major spiritual festival but give you a chance to hear royal court music, which accompanies the process. You will see all original ritual services with royal costumes, horses, elephants and various types of performance.”

The Nam Giao Esplanade is an open-air monument to the south of the Hue imperial citadel. It was built according to Confucianist heavenly dogma and is surrounded by a pine forest planted by kings and mandarins.

The esplanade was built of stone and had four large open doors facing in four directions. During the ceremony, a very big screen was erected in front of each door. Large flags were displaying on the doors: black on the north, blue on the east, red on the south and white on the west. The Esplanade was designed with three layers terraces symbolizing the oriental theory of three agents: Heaven, Earth and Humans. Each terrace has its own shape and color: circular heaven, square earth, blue heaven, yellow earth. The top layer Vien Doanh is circular and symbolizes Heaven. The surrounding parapet was painted blue. On the ceremony day, people erected a conical tent with blue cloth called Thanh Oc. Below it is a square terrace called Phuong Dan, representing the Earth.

The rite began officially at 2am and lasted nearly three hours with different ceremonies held on different terraces accompanied by royal court music and dances, Mr Hoa said “We have studied various historical and cultural documents regarding Nam Giao rite. We believe that it will truly convey the beauty of a former royal celebration”

The Director of the Hue Royal Court Museum, Tran Duc Anh Son also got excited at the prospects of the project. “Revitalizing Nam Giao ritual will honor royal court music and provide for Vietnamese and foreigners a chance to learn more about this world cultural heritage”, he said.